Zhenqiang Shi, Xiancheng Zhang, Xijing Yang, Xiaoyu Zhang, Fei Ma, Hui Gan, Junjun Chen, Dongdong Wang, Wenjing Sun, Jingxia Wang, Cunli Wang, Liting Lyu, Kaiguang Yang, Lijing Deng,and Guangyan Qing*

Advanced Materials 2023, DOI: 10.1002/adma.202302560.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the primary bacterial toxin that is vital to the pathogenesis and progression of sepsis associated with extremely high morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, specific clearance of LPS from circulating blood is highly challenging because of the structural complexity and its variation between/within bacterial species. Herein, we propose a robust strategy based on phage display screening and hemocompatible peptide bottlebrush polymer design for specific clearance of targeted LPS from circulating blood. Using LPS extracted from E. coli as an example, we discover a novel peptide (HWKAVNWLKPWT) with high affinity (KD < 1.0 nм), specificity, and neutralization activity (95.9 ± 0.1%) against the targeted LPS via iterative affinity selection coupled with endotoxin detoxification screening. A hemocompatible bottlebrush polymer bearing the short peptide [poly(PEGMEA-co-PEP-1)] exhibits high LPS selectivity to reduce circulating LPS level from 2.63 ± 0.01 to 0.78 ± 0.05 EU/mL in sepsis rabbits via extracorporeal hemoperfusion (LPS clearrance ratio > 70%), reversing the LPS-induced leukocytopenia and multiple organ damages significantly. This work provides a universal paradigm for developing a highly selective hemoadsorbent library fully covering the LPS family, which is promising to create a new era of precision medicine in sepsis therapy.