TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heuchel, Matthias
A1  - Gerber, David
A1  - Kratz, Karl
A1  - Lendlein, Andreas
T1  - Morphological analysis of differently sized highly porous poly(ether imide) microparticles by mercury porosimetry
JF  - Polymers for advanced technologies
N2  - Highly porous poly(ether imide) (PEI) microparticles prepared by a spraying/coagulation process are discussed as candidate adsorber materials for apheresis applications, i.e. removal of uremic toxins from the blood of renal failure patients. PEI particles obtained by the aforementioned procedure can have a broad size distribution with particle diameters ranging from 20 to 800 mu m. In order to further estimate the adsorption behavior of PEI microparticles packed in application relevant apheresis modules, a quantitative information about the relation between particle size and pore morphology is required. In this study, we explored whether the intraparticle porosity of PEI microparticles varies with altering the diameter of the particulate adsorbers. By an analytical wet sieving procedure, the obtained PEI microparticles were separated into five size fractions, which were analyzed by mercury intrusion porosimetry, nitrogen adsorption, and scanning electron microscopy. Mercury intrusion porosimetry revealed for all size fractions high porosity values in the range from 78% to 84% with pore diameters in the range from 10 to 1000nm. A bimodal pore size distribution was found having a first peak at around 100nm, while a second pronounced peak maximum was found at higher pore sizes that increased with raising particle diameter from 300nm for the smallest particle size fraction (50-100 mu m) to 700nm for particles with a diameter of 200 to 250 mu m. Based on these findings, it can be assumed that the main PEI particle size fraction (200-250 mu m) should exhibit the highest adsorption capacity in an apheresis module. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
KW  - porous microparticles
KW  - poly(ether imide)
KW  - mercury intrusion porosimetry
KW  - adsorber materials
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/pat.3973
SN  - 1042-7147
SN  - 1099-1581
VL  - 28
SP  - 1269
EP  - 1277
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  -