Development and Preliminary Assessment of Hemoperfusion Cartridge with Tannic Acid for Toxic Proteins’ Precipitation: An In Vitro Model

Abstract

Charcoal hemoperfusion (CHP) is one of the extracorporeal removal techniques that are used to remove toxins from the body. CHP generally is considered the preferred method for extracorporeal extraction of several toxins—toxins that are adsorbed by activated charcoal. Assessments of the tannic acid’s protective effects on ophidian poisoning are associated with the toxic proteins’ precipitation by tannic acid. The challenge in treating a snakebite lies in removing the injected poison with minimal damage to blood constituent proteins. An alternative is CHP, and this investigation proposed to develop a column for hemoperfuser cartridge, combining charcoal granules trapped between layers of polymeric material conjugated to tannic acid, using an in vitro model scaled to the Wistar rat, which can be tested in an animal model. The cartridge was evaluated using the 22full factorial design, in duplicate, as a method to study the effects of granulated-charcoal size and tannic acid concentration on the hematologic profile (platelet and leukocyte counts) and biochemical profile (total serum protein and albumin dosages) of sheep blood. The results demonstrate that charcoal in hemoperfuser cartridge: (1) decreases the serum in sheep blood volume, as consequence, (2) increases the serum proteins’ concentration, and (iii) exerts slight influence on albumin. The inclusion of tannic acid in hemoperfuser column precipitates some of serum proteins and albumin, decreasing their concentrations in the plasma serum. In conclusion, based on these effects we can suggest the use of 0.02 g tannic acid concentration and 8–20 mesh granulated charcoal in hemoperfuser cartridge for precipitating toxic proteins from snake venoms.