Advanced biopolymer filtration system for Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells collection: a study on filter composition and in vitro filtrate composition

Blood filtration systems aim to concentrate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), involved in regeneration processes, from whole blood. These cells are adopted in clinical practice for autologous transplantation in critical limb ischemia with successful limb rescue. In this work, a commercial blood filter was studied in its structure and functions, and filtered PBMCs were characterized by flow cytometry. The percentage of positive cells pre- and post-filtration was preserved, confirming filter efficiency to concentrate cells in a collecting smaller volume (from 120mL to 10mL 0.9% saline solution). No differences were observed in percentage of larger size cells (monocytes, p = 0.6490), T cells (CD3+ T cells, p = 0.3762; CD4+ T cells, p = 0.5062; and CD8+ T cells, p = 0.4891), and rare circulating cell populations in healthy conditions (CD34+hematopoietic stem cells, p = 0.2875). These data confirmed filter efficiency and open perspectives to further investigation of filtered PBMC role in regeneration processes, such as in a myogenic invitro model.