Evaluation of a membrane filter and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) product obtained from a prototype PRP kit that works through a new method for separating PRP based on cell dimensions

The harvesting of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) from whole blood based on cell density is a standard procedure that is currently applied to commercially available PRP kits. Leukocytes and erythrocytes, which are closer in density, contaminate a significant amount of PRP products, mostly commercial PRP kits. In this study, we tested membrane filters and PRP products from our prototype PRP kit. We did this by putting a membrane filter with pores of 2 μm in the middle of the tube, which is a new way to separate things based on the cell dimension method (CDM). The evaluations were performed for membrane filter use, hematology analysis, blood smears, viability and cytotoxicity assays, and fibrin structure by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Compared to the density method (DM), the CDM enables the elimination of a significant number of leukocytes and erythrocytes from the PRPs (CDM-PRP) and a significant increase in the number of platelets compared to the whole blood and DM-PRP. Furthermore, both DM-PRP and CDM-PRP increased the cell viability in L929 cells by adding them at 5% in the culture medium. In addition to CDM-PRP having the lowest cytotoxicity based on the LDH assay, the fibrin structure of CDM-PRP blood clots is characterized by thickness and firmness with a network structure. Thus, we believe that the PRP from the prototype PRP kit meets the requirements as a biomaterial for medical treatments.