Patent US4863611A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
← Back to Patent Explorer
US4863611A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Extracorporeal reactors containing immobilized species

Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
•
Filing: 1987-04-30
•
Granted: 1989-09-05
•
Expires: 2007-04-30
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract An apparatus for removing material from a biological solution consisting of a reactor chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a bioactive compound immobilized on particular supports within the reactor, means for retaining the particular supports within the reactor, means for recirculating the solution and the supports at a high flow rate within the reactor, and means for agitating or dispersing the recirculating solution-support mixture throughout the reactor chamber so as to prevent packing of the supports while not subjecting the solution to excessive or damaging forces. In the given example, an apparatus for the extracorporeal removal of heparin from blood is provided. Heparinase is immobilized on cross-linked agarose beads recirculated at a high flow rate through the reactor. Agitation of the blood-bead mixture sufficient to prevent packing of the beads within the reactor chamber is provided by means of a series of openings in the recirculation tube dispersing the mixture throughout the chamber.

Inventors

  • 👤 Howard Bernstein
  • 👤 Margaret A. Wheatley
  • 👤 Robert S. Langer

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-25 18:59
CPC Classifications
B; B01; B01D; B01D15/00; B01D15/02; A; A61; A61M; A61M1/00; A61M1/36; A61M1/3601; A61M1/3603; A61M1/3672; A61M1/3675; B01J; B01J20/00; B01J20/30; B01J20/32; B01J20/3202; B01J20/3206; B01J20/3208; B01J20/321; B01J20/3212; B01J20/3231; B01J20/3242; B01J20/3268; B01J20/3272; B01J20/3274

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim 200 words
An apparatus for removing material from a biological solution by passing the solution through a reactor and contacting the solution with a bioactive compound, the apparatus comprising: a reaction vessel which defines a reactor chamber having an inlet and an outlet; particulate supports for said bioactive compound, said particulate supports capable of being fluidized as said solution is passed through the reaction vessel; means for retaining said fluidized particulate supports within said reactor chamber; a bioactive compound immobilized on the particulate supports, wherein said compound will interact with the material to be removed from the biological solution; means for recirculating the biological solution within said reactor chamber comprising a tubular member and a pump and wherein the ends of said tubular member are within said reactor chamber; and means for providing multi directional agitation to the biological solution and particulate supports to maintain the particulate supports in a fluidized state when the flow rate of said biological solution entering said reactor is between approximately 10 ml/min and 1000 ml/min said means for providing a multi-directional agitation comprising a multiplicity of holes in said tubular member inside of said reactor chamber, said holes dispersing said recirculating solution throughout said reactor chamber.
Claim 2
Independent Claim 200 words
An apparatus for removing material from a biological solution by passing the solution through a reactor and contacting the solution with a bioactive compound, the apparatus comprising: a reaction vessel which defines a reactor chamber having an inlet and an outlet; particulate supports for said bioactive compound, said particulate supports capable of being fluidized as said solution is passed through the reaction vessel; means for retaining said fluidized particulate supports within said reactor chamber; a bioactive compound immobilized on the particulate supports, wherein said compound will interact with the material to be removed from the biological solution; means for recirculating the biological solution within said reactor chamber comprising a tubular member and a pump and wherein the ends of said tubular member are within said reactor chamber; and means for providing multi directional agitation to the biological solution and particulate supports to maintain the particulate supports in a fluidized state when the flow rate of said biological solution entering said reactor is between approximately 10 ml/min and 1000 ml/min said means for providing a multi-directional agitation comprising a multiplicity of holes in said tubular member inside of said reactor chamber, said holes dispersing said recirculating solution throughout said reactor chamber.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 26 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bioactive compound is selected from the group consisting of enzymes, antibodies, cofactors, receptors, drug binding molecules or combinations thereof.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 17 words
The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said solution is heparinized blood and said bioactive compound is heparinase.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 32 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said supports are selected from the group consisting of ion-exchange resins, agarose, cellulose, cross linked dextran, polyhydroxyl ethyl methacrylate, polyacrylamide, polyurethane, and derivatives or combinations thereof.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 12 words
The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said supports are crosslinked agarose beads.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 17 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said supports have particle diameters ranging from 20 to 200 microns.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 23 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said retaining means is a mesh having a pore size smaller than the diameter of said supports.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 31 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pump is capable of recirculating said solution and supports within said reactor chamber at a flow of between approximately 1200 ml/min and 1800 ml/min.
Claim 10
Independent Claim 220 words
A method for removing material from a biological solution by passing the solution through a reactor containing a bioactive compound, said method comprising: providing an apparatus having a reaction vessel which defines a reactor chamber having an inlet and an outlet; particulate supports for said biological compound, said particulate supports capable of being fluidized as the solution is passed through the reaction vessel; means for retaining said particulate supports within said reactor chamber; a bioactive compound immobilized on the particulate supports, wherein said compound will interact with the material to be removed from the biological solution; means for recirculating the biological solution within said reactor chamber comprising a tubular member and a pump and wherein the ends of said tubular member are within said reactor chamber; and means for providing multi-directional agitation to the particulate supports to maintain said particulate supports in a fluidized state when the flow rate of said biological solution entering said reactor is between approximately 10 ml/min and 1000 ml/min said means for providing multi-directional agitation comprising a multiplicity of holes in said tubular member within said reactor chamber, said holes dispersing said recirculating solution throughout said reactor chamber; and flowing said biological solution through the apparatus while simultaneously providing recirculation and multi-directional agitation of the solution and the particulate supports contained within the reactor chamber.
Claim 11
Independent Claim 220 words
A method for removing material from a biological solution by passing the solution through a reactor containing a bioactive compound, said method comprising: providing an apparatus having a reaction vessel which defines a reactor chamber having an inlet and an outlet; particulate supports for said biological compound, said particulate supports capable of being fluidized as the solution is passed through the reaction vessel; means for retaining said particulate supports within said reactor chamber; a bioactive compound immobilized on the particulate supports, wherein said compound will interact with the material to be removed from the biological solution; means for recirculating the biological solution within said reactor chamber comprising a tubular member and a pump and wherein the ends of said tubular member are within said reactor chamber; and means for providing multi-directional agitation to the particulate supports to maintain said particulate supports in a fluidized state when the flow rate of said biological solution entering said reactor is between approximately 10 ml/min and 1000 ml/min said means for providing multi-directional agitation comprising a multiplicity of holes in said tubular member within said reactor chamber, said holes dispersing said recirculating solution throughout said reactor chamber; and flowing said biological solution through the apparatus while simultaneously providing recirculation and multi-directional agitation of the solution and the particulate supports contained within the reactor chamber.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 26 words
The method of claim 9 further comprising selecting said bioactive compound from the group consisting of enzymes, antibodies, cofactors, receptors, drug binding molecules or combinations thereof.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 20 words
The method of claim 10 further comprising selecting heparinase as said bioactive compound, wherein said biological solution is heparinized blood.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 45 words
The method of claim 11 further comprising pumping the blood through said reactor at a flow rate of between approximately 10 ml/min and 1000 ml/min and recirculating the blood in said reactor chamber at a flow rate of between approximately 1200 ml/min and 1800 ml/min.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 32 words
The method of claim 9 further comprising selecting said supports from the group consisting of ion-exchange resins, agrose, cellulose, cross linked dextran, polyhydroxyl ethyl methacrylate, polyacrylamide, polyurethane, and derivatives or combinations thereof.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 27 words
The method of claim 13 wherein crosslinked agarose beads having diameters in the range of between approximately 20 and 200 microns are selected as said particulate supports.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim 26 words
The method of claim 9 further comprising providing a mesh having a pore size smaller than the diameter of said particulate supports as said retaining means.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US4243532A Cited
US4266029A Cited
US4373023A Cited
US4490290A Cited
US4412923A Cited
DE3406562A1 Cited
US4666425A Cited
US4666425B1 Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1992-09-04 1993-03-06 1993-09-05 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1996-09-04 1997-03-06 1997-09-05 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2000-09-04 2001-03-06 2001-09-05 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag