Usefulness of a new dialysis device adapted to small volume of red blood cells and its interest in epidemiology

Abstract

Objectives We checked the efficiency of a new dialysis device adapted to small volumes to remove glycerol from cryopreserved red blood cells. Design and methods Dialysis was performed on D-Tube96™ Dialyzer Mini device. In a preliminary trial, we measured the residual glycerol before, and 2, 4 and 24 h after dialysis. Glycerol and hemoglobin concentrations and antioxidant enzymes activities were measured in three samples with or without glycerolization/deglycerolization procedure. The mini dialysis was then applied to 96 samples from the French Epidemiological study on the Genetics and Environment of Asthma. Results Ninety-two percent of glycerol was removed after 24 h of dialysis. Hemoglobin content and activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase were recovered. No significant loss of volume was observed. Results obtained for the 96 samples perfectly fitted with reference values of our laboratory. Conclusion This new dialysis method seems to be particularly adapted for processing a large number of samples of RBCs cryoconserved in small volumes from epidemiological studies.