Background/Case Studies: The isolation of platelets from platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a critical step in various medical applications, including tissue engineering, wound healing, and regenerative medicine. The use of acoustic forces to separate platelets from PRP offers a non-invasive and efficient approach to achieving this goal. Acoustic radiation forces mobilize cells in flow according to their volume and density without contact.
Study
Design/Methods: 10 whole blood bags were collected and processed at the French blood bank, to obtain a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) after centrifugation (1300 rpm; 13 min). The PRP bags are then immediately injected at a flow rate of 5 mL/min into the consumables in the machine prototype where they are subjected to acoustic radiation (frequency: 2.5-2.6 MHz, power of 10 and 30 W). The final volume of obtained PCs was adjusted by the addition of a platelet preservative solution (Intersol, Fresenius Kabi). The 9 main standard PCs obtained after acoustophoresis were pulled, leukoreduced, and treated for pathogen attenuation by the INTERCEPT blood system. Physicochemical and biological parameters (yield, platelet content, pH, pO2, pCO2, LDH, glucose, lactate, soluble p-selectin) assays were measured at D2, D3, D6, and D7.
Results/Findings: The data on 4 pulled PCs showed an average increase platelet content from 1,808x1011 /unit in PRP to 3,65x1011/unit. In PCs with an average yield of 82% after acoustophoresis. The mean pH of the pulled PCs measured 7.20 ± 0.05 which decreased to 6 6,98 ± 0,01 on D7. The mean concentration of glucose from plasma was 9.2 ± 1.3 mM which decreased to 4,0 ± 0,3 after 7 days confirming a consumption of glucose from the residual plasma contained in the different PCs. The evolution of the partial pressure of Oxygen (pO2) increases moderately during the conservation (D2: 138 ± 1 to D7: 157 ± 1) while pCO2 (D2: 34,0 ± 0,7 to D7: 17,5 ± 0,0) decreases during the same period. The concentration of soluble p-selectin increases during the 7-day storage period. An increase in the mean concentration of LDH concentration during the same period has been observed Conclusions: The quality and functionality of platelets has been preserved after acoustic process and compatible with therapeutic use. These data need to be completed with a larger number of procedures. The optimizations of the process, in particular at the level of the acoustophoresis operation: reduction of the separation time reduction in PCs volume, and increase in platelet yield are to be pursued. By using this cutting-edge technology in this rapidly evolving field, the goal of this research would be to improve the acoustic parameters to achieve contactless and cost-effective and high quality PC production.
Importance of research: This research present an innovative technique to prepare the PC from PRP in a contactless and soft way as an alternative to centrifugation without a mechanical stress on platelets.
