Preparation of Sulfonated Carbon Nanotubes/Activated Carbon Composite Beads and Their Adsorption Capacity for Low Density Lipoprotein

Sulfonated carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/activated carbon composite beads were obtained by suspension polymerization, carbonization, activation, and further sulfonation using the diazonium salt coupling method. Adsorption of low density lipoprotein (LDL) was explored with these composite beads. The results showed that the composite beads had good sphericity, smooth surface, developed mesopores and were sulfonated by p-aminobenzenesulfonic acid. With the increase of CNTs mass ratio, the adsorption capacity of LDL increased. When the CNTs mass fraction was 45% , the amount of LDL adsorption reached 6.564 mg·g-1 and was 3.3 times as large as that of the beads without CNTs. Therefore, the composite beads have good prospects as LDL adsorbents in hemoperfusion.