K+ and Ca2+ modified Na-X zeolites as possible bile acids sequestrant.

Modified zeolite X, previously exchanged with K+ and Ca2+ cations were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, chemical analysis and BET techniques. Different masses of these solids were mixed with an ox bile solution at different reaction times. The supernatants obtained by centrifugations were submitted to bile acid and phospholipids quantitative determinations. The amount of bile acids adsorbed was 65, 28 and 77% and for phospholipids was 45, 67 and 98% for KX, NaX and CaX respectively. As expected, as the amount of mass used increases more bile acids and phospholipids are adsorbed due to a larger surface of the solid being available for adsorption. On the other hand, 120 min of reaction time were sufficient for the adsorption of both components. The solids, after incubations with bile solutions were treated with abundant distilled water and dried at room temperature. The FT-IR analysis of these solids did not detect any bile and on the zeolite surface with suggested that the bile acid adsorption on the exchanged zeolites is moderated by weak and non covalent interactions.