Hollow-Fiber Cartridges: Model Systems for Virus Removal From Blood

Aethlon Medical is developing an extracorporeal blood filter as a therapeutic device designed to remove viruses and toxins from the blood of patients. The Hemopurifier is a modified hollow-fiber plasmapheresis cartridge containing an affinity matrix in the extra capillary space. The matrix contains a high mannose specific lectin as the active capture agent. The flow configuration of the device is that of Starling flow. The filter is designed to clear viruses and toxins from blood, delaying illness so the patient’s immune system can fight off the virus. Results to date indicate the efficient removal of a variety of enveloped viruses including HIV, HCV and poxviruses with in vitro evidence indicating the ability to capture Dengue fever virus, measles, mumps, influenza, Ebola and Marburg. Possible additional targets include bioweapons such as smallpox and bacterial toxins. A schematic of the use of the filter in a therapeutic application is shown in figure 1. In order to optimize the design of such a filter, the fluid mechanics of the device is modeled analytically and investigated experimentally. Additional information can be found in Tullis et al. [1], Tullis et al. [2], and Duffin and Tullis [2].