Pathogen reduction in human plasma using an ultrashort pulsed laser.

Shaw-Wei D Tsen,Sara Sizemore,Bert Jacobs,David H Kingsley,Karen Kibler,Sara M Vaiana,Jeanne Anderson,Samuel Achilefu,Kong-Thon Tsen

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111673

Abstract

Pathogen reduction is a viable approach to ensure the continued safety of the blood supply against emerging pathogens. However, the currently licensed pathogen reduction techniques are ineffective against non-enveloped viruses such as hepatitis A virus, and they introduce chemicals with concerns of side effects which prevent their widespread use. In this report, we demonstrate the inactivation of both enveloped and non-enveloped viruses in human plasma using a novel chemical-free method, a visible ultrashort pulsed laser. We found that laser treatment resulted in 2-log, 1-log, and 3-log reductions in human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis A virus, and murine cytomegalovirus in human plasma, respectively. Laser-treated plasma showed ≥70% retention for most coagulation factors tested. Furthermore, laser treatment did not alter the structure of a model coagulation factor, fibrinogen. Ultrashort pulsed lasers are a promising new method for chemical-free, broad-spectrum pathogen reduction in human plasma.

Highlights

Pathogen reduction (PR) is an ideal strategy to combat emerging pathogens and ensure the continued safety of blood products
In this work we demonstrate inactivation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis A virus (HAV), and murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) in human plasma using a Ultrashort pulsed (USP) laser operating at a wavelength of 425 nm
USP laser treatment inactivates viruses in human plasma For this study, we chose HIV and HAV as medically significant enveloped and non-enveloped RNA viruses, respectively, and we chose MCMV as a representative enveloped DNA virus whose results could be extrapolated to relevant human pathogens such as cytomegalovirus and hepatitis B virus

Summary

Introduction

Pathogen reduction (PR) is an ideal strategy to combat emerging pathogens and ensure the continued safety of blood products. The solvent-detergent (SD) method [4,5], which inactivates enveloped viruses by disrupting lipid membranes, was discontinued in the United States due to an association with unexpected thromboses in some patients [4,6]. Light-activated photochemicals such as methylene blue [7,8] and amotosalen [9,10], which inactivate pathogens through crosslinking, involve introducing chemicals with concerns of side effects. All of the above mentioned methods are ineffective against non-enveloped viruses such as hepatitis A virus (HAV) [6]

Methods

Results

Conclusion