Autoclave sterilization of polypropylene plasma separator

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Autoclave sterilization is a common method for medical devices.
• Plasma separators (PS) require careful handling and sterilization.
• Improving pre-use handling procedures for PS is crucial for clinical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a water-prefilled, autoclave-sterilized plasma separator (PS).
• To evaluate the effect of autoclaving on polypropylene membranes with different pore sizes.
• To assess the filtration and sieving performance of the sterilized PS.

Main Methods:

• Development of a water-prefilled plasma separator (PS).
• Autoclave sterilization of PS with two types of polypropylene membranes (varying pore sizes).
• In vitro filtration study using bovine blood to evaluate performance.

Main Results:

• Larger pore size membranes exhibited significantly higher filtration rates (p < 0.05).
• Sieving coefficients for proteins were comparable between membranes of different pore sizes.
• Water-prefilled, autoclave-sterilized PS demonstrated filtration and sieving properties similar to non-autoclaved PS.

Conclusions:

• Autoclave sterilization of water-prefilled plasma separators does not significantly alter their performance.
• The developed plasma separator shows promising filtration and sieving characteristics.
• The findings suggest the potential clinical acceptability of the autoclave-sterilized plasma separator.