Glycated proteins and advanced glycation end-products are postulated to play an important role in the development of complications due to diabetes mellitus or renal failure. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of hydrazine-conjugated cellulose to adsorb glycated albumin. The samples used for adsorption test were artificially glycated albumin or the serum from patients with diabetes mellitus. The hydrazine-conjugated cellulose adsorbed more than 20% of the albumin glycated artificially over 77 days. The serum concentrations of glycated albumin in patients with diabetes mellitus (39.6 +/- 2.5% (mean +/- SEM), n = 14) were not decreased by incubation with cellulose alone (postincubation level, 39.7 +/- 2.5%) whereas they were significantly (p < 0.0001) reduced to 38.0 +/- 2.4% after incubation with hydrazine-conjugated cellulose. There was a significant correlation (r = 0.75, p < 0.01) between the preincubation levels of glycated albumin and the degree of adsorption. The hydrazine-conjugated cellulose has a higher affinity for albumin with greater glycation.