Leukocyte depletion and recovery with white blood cell sterile acrodisc® syringe filter

Abstract

Background & Aim State of the art research laboratories with activities based on leukocyte recovery or depletion, demand new options to accommodate current testing needs. In this context, the ability to quickly process large number of samples under laboratory conditions requires an optimized product design for leukocyte recovery or depletion. This study evaluates the performance of Pall's sterile Acrodisc® WBC syringe filter by means of red blood cell (RBC) recovery (leukocyte depletion) in the filtrate, as well as white blood cell (WBC) recovery and viability before and after filtration of human whole blood samples. Methods, Results & Conclusion For this, whole human blood samples were collected and preserved using EDTA coated vacutainers, and tested within 36 hours after collection. WBC concentration was determined by flow cytometry before and after filtration of the whole blood samples. This process required a) whole blood analysis, b) flow cytometry sample preparation by whole blood filtration, and c) WBC recovery wash. Results on leukocyte depletion experiments shown over 99% removal of WBC's from the samples in all cases studied. Additionally, the sterile Acrodisc® WBC syringe filter was able to recover about 60 % of WBCs after the backflush step. Obtained viability of WBC on whole blood samples was about 94 %, and on the recovered leukocytes was about 80 %. Results from flow cytometry data on leukocyte depletion and WBC recovery are depicted on Figure 1, and on Figure 2 those corresponding to WBC viability. Pall's sterile Acrodisc® WBC syringe filter is a proven filtration device designed to capture and recover leukocytes for further analysis of WBC's, or alternatively, removal of WBCs to produce leukodepleted blood samples. This is an established tool for processing up to 12 mL of whole blood samples in research laboratories equipping scientists with a simple and efficient method to isolate or remove white blood cells. State of the art research laboratories with activities based on leukocyte recovery or depletion, demand new options to accommodate current testing needs. In this context, the ability to quickly process large number of samples under laboratory conditions requires an optimized product design for leukocyte recovery or depletion. This study evaluates the performance of Pall's sterile Acrodisc® WBC syringe filter by means of red blood cell (RBC) recovery (leukocyte depletion) in the filtrate, as well as white blood cell (WBC) recovery and viability before and after filtration of human whole blood samples. For this, whole human blood samples were collected and preserved using EDTA coated vacutainers, and tested within 36 hours after collection. WBC concentration was determined by flow cytometry before and after filtration of the whole blood samples. This process required a) whole blood analysis, b) flow cytometry sample preparation by whole blood filtration, and c) WBC recovery wash.