Patent ID: 8206958

Claim:
A process for adsorbing a biological substance from a liquid, which comprises passing a liquid containing the biological substance through a composite material, wherein the composite material comprises (a) a support member comprising a plurality of pores extending through the support member; and (b) a macroporous cross-linked gel; wherein the macroporous cross-linked gel has macropores; the macropores have an average diameter of 10 nm to 3000 nm; the macropores of the macroporous cross-linked gel are smaller than the pores of the support member; and the macroporous cross-linked gel is located in the pores of the support member and filling the pores of the support member; wherein the macroporous cross-linked gel bears binding sites that display specific interactions for the biological substance; and the liquid passes through the macropores of the macroporous cross-linked gel such that the binding sites sufficiently interact with the biological substance, thereby adsorbing from the liquid onto the binding sites the biological substance.