Evaluation of a monocyte enrichment procedure using the blood cell separator Fresenius AS 104

The small number of circulating monocytes in peripheral blood makes it difficult to collect enough cells for studies on the metabolism and analysis of receptor functions of this cell type for diagnostic aims and treatment. Therefore, a new procedure to enrich monocytes from peripheral blood using the cell separator Fresenius AS 104 was developed and evaluated. The separation is done using the tubing set 'P1Y-Gran-collect', which is a closed system with a single-stage separation chamber. The procedure is running continuously, while the cells are harvested cyclically. After processing of 4.9 l whole blood an average yield of (2.47 +/- 2.05) x 10(9) monocytes could be collected with an efficiency of 46 +/- 20%. The monocyte enrichment procedure using the Fresenius AS 104 provides a sufficient number of cells for the next steps: purification and concentration of the cells for drug monitoring, cell culturing, receptor analysis and further in vitro diagnostics.