Floating Buoy Centrifuge Tube for One-Step Blood Fraction Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for separating components in biological fluids, such as blood, often require numerous and lengthy manipulations, which can degrade the recovered materials and diminish the amount of recoverable components, especially when separating white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.
Innovation Solution
A multi-component separation device and method utilizing a container with a buoy that includes sealed chambers and a centrifuge-activated valve, allowing for efficient separation of components by centrifugation, with the buoy displacing along a longitudinal axis to separate fractions of different densities, and a conduit system for collecting and mixing fractions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple iterations of separation and washing are performed to enrich biological samples, then the concentration of components increases, but the recovered materials degrade and the amount of recoverable components diminishes
Solution Approach 1:
The centrifuge tube is divided into multiple sealed chambers (first chamber, second chamber, third chamber) that can independently contain different biological components. This segmentation allows simultaneous separation of multiple components (platelet poor plasma, white blood cells, platelet rich plasma) in a single centrifugation step, eliminating the need for repeated separation and washing iterations that would otherwise degrade the materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The buoy is pre-configured with sealed chambers before centrifugation begins. During centrifugation, the buoy automatically displaces to position the chambers at appropriate locations within the gradient, and centrifuge-activated valves automatically seal the chambers at predetermined centrifugal forces. This preliminary configuration and automatic action during centrifugation enables complete separation in one step, preventing the need for multiple iterative processing steps that would compromise material integrity.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple separation and washing steps are used to obtain sufficient concentration, then component concentration increases, but processing time increases and material integrity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The tube is segmented into multiple sealed chambers that can simultaneously capture different components at different densities. This allows parallel processing of multiple separations in a single centrifugation run, reducing total processing time compared to sequential multiple-step methods while achieving the required concentration of all components.
Solution Approach 2:
The buoy chambers are pre-configured with sealing mechanisms that activate automatically during centrifugation at predetermined forces. This eliminates the need for manual intervention and multiple processing steps, enabling all separations to occur simultaneously in one centrifugation cycle, thereby significantly reducing processing time while maintaining material integrity.
3Device complexity
If a single port is used for sample introduction and fraction collection, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to collect varying volumes of different fractions is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The buoy is designed to dynamically displace along the longitudinal axis during centrifugation based on the density gradient, automatically positioning the sealed chambers at optimal locations. The centrifuge-activated valves dynamically seal chambers at predetermined centrifugal forces. This dynamic behavior allows a single port to access multiple differently-positioned chambers containing different volumes of separated fractions, providing collection flexibility without adding multiple fixed ports to the device structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables efficient separation of biological components with increased concentration in specific regions, reducing material degradation and improving the recovery of components like platelet poor plasma and white blood cells and platelet rich plasma, while allowing for varying volume collection and reduced processing time.
Implementation Method 1
subjecting the sample to a force of centrifugation to produce two or more fractions in the sample, each fraction having a component from the sample of a different density
Implementation Method 2
the buoy is configured to be displaced along a longitudinal axis within the container... to separate fractions of different densities
Implementation Method 3
a centrifuge activated suspension floor (e.g., in the form of a check valve) having an open position and a closed position such that the suspension floor is configured to fluidically seal the orifice at the base of the outer surface when in the closed position
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
Multi-component separation devices configured to separate components of a liquid sample by centrifugation are provided. Aspects of the separation devices include a container having a distal end and a proximal end and a buoy configured to be displaced along a longitudinal axis within the container where the buoy includes one or more sealed chambers. Also provided are methods of using the subject devices to separate components of a multi-component liquid sample such as whole blood, bone marrow aspirate or stromal vascular fraction as well as systems suitable for practicing the subject methods.