Creation of Porous Fibers That Adsorb Causative Substances in Intractable Diseases

Toray Industries, Inc. (Head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Mitsuo Ohya; hereinafter "Toray") has developed a technology (hereinafter "this technology") that enables arbitrary control of the pore diameter of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) porous fibers across a wide range from several nanometers to approximately 1,000 nm, leading to the creation of porous fibers capable of selectively adsorbing causative substances in intractable diseases. This technology contributes to proposing new blood purification treatment options that serve as alternatives to or provide synergistic effects with conventional therapies for intractable diseases such as autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer.

With the aging population and diversification of lifestyles, the number of patients with intractable diseases such as autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer continues to increase year by year. For these diseases, there are many cases where drug therapy and surgery alone are insufficiently effective, or where side effects and risk of recurrence pose challenges. Against this backdrop, demand is growing for technologies capable of efficiently removing high-molecular-weight causative substances found in the blood, such as autoantibodies, lipoproteins, and exosomes.

PMMA is a material with good biocompatibility and moderate protein adsorption properties, and Toray is the only company in the industry to have commercialized PMMA porous fibers. Specifically, they are manufactured and sold as artificial kidneys and adsorption-type blood purifiers, with approximately 50 years of track record in blood purification therapy applications.

Toray combined advanced analytical technologies such as small-angle X-ray scattering with digital technologies such as phase separation simulation to analyze in real time the nanoscale phase separation behavior during the spinning process of PMMA porous fibers, thereby developing a pore size control technology capable of controlling pore diameters up to a maximum of approximately 1,000 nm—more than approximately 50 times larger than conventional fibers. Generally, enlarging pore size causes the fiber structure to become sparse and reduces strength; however, this technology makes it possible to achieve both large pore size and structural strength simultaneously. By applying this technology, it becomes possible to selectively adsorb and remove high-molecular-weight causative substances that could not previously be captured inside the pores.

Going forward, Toray will advance the design of pore diameters suited to each disease and the development of mass production technologies aimed at treating intractable diseases such as autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer, with the goal of early commercialization. Furthermore, this technology can also be applied beyond medical devices—for example, Toray is also pursuing its application in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

Toray will continue to develop high-value-added products leveraging advanced materials technologies, embodying its corporate philosophy of "contributing to society through the creation of new value," and pursuing both social contribution and sustainable growth and expansion.

<Reference>

1) News Release: December 20, 2022
・Content: "Creation of Fibers That Efficiently Adsorb Causative Proteins in Blood"

・Link: https://www.toray.co.jp/news/article.html?contentId=v7dxb7ht

2) News Release: November 10, 2023

・Content: "PMMA Porous Column That Efficiently Adsorbs Causative Proteins in Blood Receives

　　　　　'2023 Japan Society for Artificial Organs Technology Award'"

・Link: https://www.toray.co.jp/news/article.html?contentId=hxpvupms