A composite filter aid may include a first mineral selected from diatomaceous earth and natural glass. The filter aid may also include a second mineral having and aspect ratio greater than about 2:1, and a binder. The filter aid may have a permeability ranging from 0.2 to 20 darcys. A method for making a composite filter aid may include blending a first mineral, a second mineral, and a binder, wherein the first mineral comprises at least one of diatomaceous earth and natural glass, and the second mineral has an aspect ratio greater than about 2:1. The method may further include agglomerating the first mineral and second mineral in the presence of the binder to form the composite filter aid. A method for filtering a beverage may include using the composite filter aid.

[Object] To provide an adsorbent, an adsorbent sheet, and a carbon/polymer composite for adsorbing a virus having further improved virus adsorption capability. [Solving Means] An adsorbent for adsorbing a virus according to the present invention has a specific surface area value as measured by the nitrogen BET method of 10 m.sup.2/g or more and a pore volume as measured by the BJH method of 0.1 cm.sup.3/g or more. An adsorbent sheet for adsorbing a virus according to the present invention includes a porous carbonaceous material having a specific surface area value as measured by the nitrogen BET method of 10 m.sup.2/g or more and a pore volume as measured by the BJH method of 0.1 cm.sup.3/g or more. A carbon/polymer composite for adsorbing a virus according to the present invention includes a porous carbonaceous material having a specific surface area value as measured by the nitrogen BET method of 10 m.sup.2/g or more and a pore volume as measured by the BJH method of 0.1 cm.sup.3/g or more; and a binder.

The present invention relates to a sorbent material for separation and purification of biopolymers, particularly nucleic acids, having a solid support substantially modified with a copolymer coating comprising aromatic monomers and crosslinking compounds and unsaturated esters or ethers preferably attached to the support via a vinylchlorsilane. The use of these materials for separation of nucleic acids, particularly a one-step isolation of DNA from lysates of different biological sources, is an object of the invention as well as a chromatographic column or cartridge at least partially filled with the sorbent material of the invention, a membrane-like device comprising the sorbent material of the invention, and a kit comprising the sorbent material of the invention in bulk or packed in chromatographic devices as well as other devices necessary for performing sample preparations.

The invention concerns biocompatible polymer systems comprising at least one polymer sorbent with a plurality of pores, said polymer designed to adsorb pathogen-associated molecular pattern molecules and damage-associated molecular pattern molecules. Also disclosed herein are methods for reducing contamination in a biological substance, or treating contamination in a subject, by one or more pathogen-associated molecular pattern molecules and damage-associated molecular pattern molecules, by contacting the biological substance with an effective amount of sorbent capable of sorbing the toxin.

A composite filter aid may include diatomaceous earth, natural glass, and a precipitated silica binder, wherein the filter aid has a permeability ranging from 3 to 20 darcys. A composite filter aid may include diatomaceous earth, perlite, and a precipitated silica binder, wherein the filter aid has an alpha density less than 15 lbs/ft.sup.3. A method for making a composite material may include blending diatomaceous earth and perlite, adding alkali silicate to the blended diatomaceous earth and perlite, and precipitating the alkali silicate as a binder to make the composite material. A method for filtering a beverage may include using a composite filter aid and/or composite material.

A range of carbon materials can be produced using lignin in combination with synthetic phenolic resins or naturally occurring lingo-cellulosic materials. The lignin, which is essentially a naturally occurring phenolic resin, has a carbon yield on pyrolysis similar to that of the synthetic resins, which aids processing. The lignin can be used as a binder phase for synthetic resin or lignocellulosic materials allowing the production of monolithic carbons from a wide range of precursors, as the primary structural material where the thermal processing is modified by the addition of small quantities of synthetic resin materials or as structure modified in the production of meso/macro porous carbons in either bead, granular or monolithic form. A carbonised monolith is provided comprising mesoporous and/or macroporous carbon particles dispersed in a matrix of microporous carbon particles with voids between the particles defining paths for fluid to flow into and through the structure. The monolith may take the form of a shaped body having walls defining a multiplicity of internal transport channels for fluid flow, the transport channels being directed along the extrusion direction. The monolith may be made by carbonising a shaped phenolic body based on phenolic resin precursors. In a method for producing such a carbonisable shaped resin body solid particles of a first phenolic resin are provided which is partially cured so that the particles are sinterable but do not melt on carbonisation. The particles of the first phenolic resin are mixed with particles of a second phenolic resin that has a greater degree of cure than said first phenolic resin and has a mesoporous and/or macroporous microstructure that is preserved on carbonisation. The resulting mixture is formed into a dough e.g. by mixing the resin particles with methyl cellulose, PEO and water, after which the dough is extruded to form a shaped product and stabilising in its shape by sintering.

A solidified porous carbon material uses a plant-derived material as a raw material, a bulk density of the solidified porous carbon material is in the range of 0.2 to 0.4 grams/cm.sup.3, preferably, 0.3 to 0.4 grams/cm.sup.3. A value of a cumulative pore volume in the range of 0.05 to 5 m in pore size based on a mercury press-in method is in the range of 0.4 to 1.2 cm.sup.3, preferably, 0.5 to 1.0 cm.sup.3 per 1 gram of the solidified porous carbon material.

The present invention provides novel chromatographic materials, e.g., for chromatographic separations, processes for its preparation and separations devices containing the chromatographic material; separations devices, chromatographic columns and kits comprising the same; and methods for the preparation thereof. The chromatographic materials of the invention are chromatographic materials comprising having a narrow particle size distribution.

High-surface-area, ultraporous manganese oxide (MnOx) xerogels and aerogels exhibit outstanding filtration performance for multiple, chemically distinct toxic gases, including ammonia, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. These MnOx materials use multiple mechanisms for small molecule capture/catalysis including molecular sieving and oxidative decomposition, and function in a wide range of humidity conditions.

A porous material including polymerized units containing pores is provided, which can be employed for desalination applications. Each of the units includes at least one aromatic amino group and at least one hydroxyl group. The aromatic amino groups and the hydroxyl groups are arranged on surfaces of the pores in geometries configured to capture sodium chloride from an aqueous environment. The porous material can be provided as particles or a sponge. The porous material can be manufactured from a solution including monomers, a porogen, and an initiator by a polymerization process. The porous material can be reused after a desalination process by treatment with deionized water. A steam generation apparatus can be employed to facilitate removal of sodium chloride from the porous material in which sodium chloride is captured.