December 2011
BTL’s Director of R&D, Dr Kevin Ward, will be presenting a webinar on our groundbreaking work on the freeze drying of human red blood cells in early 2012.
Blood preservation technologies depend upon refrigeration, which has a number of drawbacks including the cost and logistics of cold chain management. The shelf life of red blood cells preserved by refrigeration alone is just 35-42 days. Meanwhile medical advances have increased demand for blood and blood products. Drying red blood cells (RBCs) involves some stiff challenges. Structural integrity must be maintained and the cells must also continue to function as oxygen carriers with no oxidation of haemoglobin.
A wide range of excipients and protectants were studied. Proprietary technology for protectant loading systems and concentration techniques were also investigated. A range of freeze drying parameters were studied including cooling rate, temperature and drying time. The success of these trials was assessed using ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry to measure total haemoglobin for cell death and haemoglobin oxidation.
Levels of survival of 96% were achieved though the oxidation levels of haemoglobin were quite high at 60%, this was achieved in the absence of biopolymer. The use of the novel biopolymer led to haemoglobin oxidation levels below detectable limits, but the maximum survival was reduced to 85%. This study has shown that red blood cells can be successfully freeze dried and rehydrated with minimal degradation. The lessons learned in this study will be applied to further studies on RBC’s and nucleated cells.
This webinar is offered by SP Scientific as part of their LyoLearn series. The duration is approximately one hour. Registration is free.
24th January 2012, 7.00 and 12.00 New York time (12.00 and 17.00 GMT).
To register, please visit the SP Scientific website.
Want to learn more about freeze drying? Check out our training courses, or request a free introductory guide to freeze drying.