New Horizons In Cell Separation

Cell separators/apheresis devices offer separation of desired blood components from their heterogeneous cell mixture either for donation or for exchanging/removing substances in therapeutic procedures adopting varied principles. The new techniques in cell separation have evolved significantly from the cumbersome and crude age-old techniques. The options of cell separators presently available in the market are:

Automated separation techniques by centrifugation. These include intermittent flow cell separators and continuous flow cell separators. They are widely used in blood banks as they are user friendly, noiseless, have single venous access to collect and return the components, superior product quality, and provide all protocols like single donor red cell (SDR), single donor red cell and plasma (SDR-P), leucodepleted platelets (LDP), LDP and RBC from single donor (LDP-RBC), peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC), and therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE).

Cell separation by membrane filtration. This technology is segmented on the basis of cell type, application, and end user. The filters available include coated cellulose acetate MF, nylon MF, MCE, PTEE, and PVDF membrane filters. Differentiated cells and stem cells can be isolated through this technique. They can be used in cell banks, hospitals, labs, research laboratories, institutes, and biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies.

Immunomagnetic cell separators. Here, the cells are magnetically labeled and harvested using magnetic force (available in 50 ml tubes). They are durable, easy to use, and bring about rapid separation and easy aspiration of cells. This protocol is intended for isolation of CD2+, CD3+, and CD8+ from whole blood, buffy coat, and MNC. Here, Dynabeads are mixed with the sample in a tube and bind to target cells. The bead bound cells are separated using a magnet.

Amongst the array of techniques available in the market, it is for the consumer to opt for his choice based on his requirements.