- Toray announced on March 26, 2026 it can control PMMA porous fiber pore sizes from several nanometers to about 1,000 nanometers.
- The enlarged pores allow selective adsorption of high-molecular-weight pathogenic substances such as autoantibodies, lipoproteins and exosomes.
- The technology achieves pore diameters more than 50 times larger than conventional PMMA fibers while retaining high fiber strength.
- Toray is developing pore-size designs and mass-production methods for blood purification therapies and biopharmaceutical manufacturing applications.
Overview
On March 26, 2026 Toray announced a method to control pore sizes in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) porous fibers from several nanometers to about 1,000 nm, enabling selective adsorption of high–molecular-weight pathogenic substances in blood.
Technical approach
The company used small-angle X-ray scattering combined with real-time analysis of nanoscale phase separation during fiber spinning, plus phase-separation simulation and digital processes, to regulate pore formation across the nanoscale-to-submicron range.
Performance
The process yields pore diameters more than 50 times larger than conventional PMMA fibers while retaining high fiber strength, allowing capture of larger pathogenic species that previously could not enter the pores.
Targets and applications
Target substances include autoantibodies, lipoproteins and exosomes; intended uses are adsorption-type blood purification therapies for autoimmune, cardiovascular, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, with further work on disease-specific pore designs and mass-production methods and potential application in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
