title: The Role of Physical Stabilization in Whole Blood Preservation.
abstract: The rapid degradation of blood ex vivo imposes logistical limitations on the utilization of blood-borne cells in medical diagnostics and scientific investigations. A fundamental but overlooked aspect in the storage of this fluid tissue is blood settling, which induces physical stress and compaction, aggregates blood cells, and causes collateral damage due to leukocyte activation. Here we show that the polymer Ficoll 70 kDa stabilized blood samples and prevented blood settling over the course of 72 hours, primarily by inhibiting depletion-mediated red blood cell aggregation. Physical stabilization decreased echinocyte formation, improved leukocyte viability, and inhibited the release of neutrophil elastase--a marker of neutrophil extracellular trap formation. In addition, Ficoll-stabilized blood was compatible with common leukocyte enrichment techniques including red blood cell lysis and immunomagnetic purification. This study showed for the first time that blood settling can be prevented using polymers and has implications in diagnostics.
authors.affiliation: BioMEMS Resource Center, Center for Engineering in Medicine, &Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Keith H K
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: BioMEMS Resource Center, Center for Engineering in Medicine, &Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Sandlin
authors.affiliation: BioMEMS Resource Center, Center for Engineering in Medicine, &Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Carey
authors.affiliation: BioMEMS Resource Center, Center for Engineering in Medicine, &Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: BioMEMS Resource Center, Center for Engineering in Medicine, &Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Shank
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.|Mayo Clinic, Division of Interventional Radiology, Scottsdale, AZ 85259, USA.
authors.forename: Rahmi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oklu
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center &Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Shyamala
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maheswaran
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center &Department of Medicine, Massachusetts, MA General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.|Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Haber
authors.affiliation: BioMEMS Resource Center, Center for Engineering in Medicine, &Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Irimia
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, Department of Medicine, &BioMEMS Resource Center, Center for Engineering in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Shannon L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Stott
authors.affiliation: BioMEMS Resource Center, Center for Engineering in Medicine, &Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toner
mesh_terms: D001772:Blood Cell Count; D001793:Blood Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D002449:Cell Aggregation / Q000187:drug effects*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D005362:Ficoll / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D005362:Ficoll