Plasma concentration
AssigneesHanuman LLC, Biomet Biologics, LLC
InventorsRandel Dorian, Michael D. Leach, Richard W. Storrs
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A plasma concentrator having a concentrator chamber, concentrator gel beads, a filter, and an agitator. The agitator end is positioned in the concentrator chamber and supported for rotation about its central axis and for reciprocal movement along its central axis. A filter is selected to block effective flow of plasma therethrough under ambient gravity conditions and permit plasma and plasma concentrate flow therethrough under centrifugal forces of the separation gravity. A method concentrates plasma by removing water without significantly denaturing the fibrinogen in the plasma. Then centrifugal force can be applied to the concentrated plasma in an amount sufficient to separate a substantial portion of the plasma concentrate from the beads.
Claims24
A method for concentrating plasma by removing water without significantly denaturing the fibrinogen in the plasma, comprising:
- positioning a plurality of concentrator gel beads in a concentrator chamber of the plasma concentrator;
- positioning a sample volume of plasma in the concentrator chamber of the plasma concentrator;
- moving an actuator stem having a lower agitator end to agitate the sample volume of plasma and the concentrator gel beads in the concentrator chamber with agitator blades extending outwardly from the lower agitator end being positioned in the concentrator chamber;
- concentrating the plasma by removing at least a portion of water from the sample volume of plasma to the concentrator gel beads to form a concentrated plasma volume;
- and
- removing the concentrated plasma volume through a filter in a lower opening of the concentrator chamber;
- wherein the concentrator chamber includes a top with an upper opening through which an upper end of the actuator stem extends.
A method for concentrating plasma by removing water without significantly denaturing the fibrinogen in the plasma, comprising:
- a) introducing the plasma into a concentration chamber containing a plurality of dehydrated concentrator gel beads and an agitator;
- b) removing water from the plasma until the plasma has a protein concentration greater than the protein concentration of the untreated plasma while:
- i) rotating the agitator to stir the beads while they are absorbing water from the plasma to reduce plasma polarization, and
- ii) moving the agitator to break up clumps of beads that form during the stirring;
- and
- c) applying centrifugal force to the concentrated plasma in an amount sufficient to separate a substantial portion of the plasma concentrate from the beads.
A method for concentrating plasma by removing water without significantly denaturing the fibrinogen in the plasma, comprising:
- a) introducing the plasma into a concentration chamber containing a plurality of dehydrated concentrator gel beads and an agitator;
- b) removing water from the plasma until the plasma has a protein concentration greater than the protein concentration of the untreated plasma while:
- i) moving the agitator to cause agitation of the beads while they are absorbing water from the plasma to reduce plasma polarization, and
- ii) moving the agitator to break up clumps of beads that form during the agitation;
- and
- c) applying centrifugal force to the concentrated plasma in an amount sufficient to separate a substantial portion of the plasma concentrate from the beads;
- wherein moving the agitator includes rotating the agitator around a central axis of the agitator and reciprocally moving the agitator its along the central axis.
A method for concentrating plasma by removing water without significantly denaturing the fibrinogen in the plasma, comprising:
- a) introducing the plasma into a concentration chamber containing a plurality of dehydrated concentrator gel beads and an agitator;
- b) removing water from the plasma until the plasma has a protein concentration greater than the protein concentration of the untreated plasma while:
- i) moving the agitator to cause agitation of the beads while they are absorbing water from the plasma to reduce plasma polarization, and
- ii) moving the agitator to break up clumps of beads that form during the agitation;
- and
- c) applying centrifugal force to the concentrated plasma in an amount sufficient to separate a substantial portion of the plasma concentrate from the beads;
- wherein moving the agitator includes moving the total volume of the plasma and the concentrator gel beads at least because the concentration chamber has a cylindrical inner wall and an agitator blade of the agitator has an outer edge in close proximity to the inner wall with a space between the outer edge and the inner wall being less than a diameter of the gel beads.
A method for concentrating plasma by removing water without significantly denaturing the fibrinogen in the plasma, comprising:
- a) introducing the plasma into a concentration chamber containing a plurality of dehydrated concentrator gel beads and an agitator;
- b) removing water from the plasma until the plasma has a protein concentration greater than the protein concentration of the untreated plasma while:
- i) moving the agitator to cause agitation of the beads while they are absorbing water from the plasma to reduce plasma polarization, and
- ii) moving the agitator to break up clumps of beads that form during the agitation;
- and
- c) applying centrifugal force to the concentrated plasma in an amount sufficient to separate a substantial portion of the plasma concentrate from the beads;
- (d) limiting upward movement of the agitator by contacting a stop sleeve extending from a top of the plasma concentrator into the concentration chamber with stop projections of an agitator stem of the agitator, wherein the stop sleeve has a lower abutment surface and the stop projections extend outward beyond the diameter of the stop sleeve, an upper surface of the stop projections constituting abutment surfaces positioned to stop upward axial movement of the agitator when contacting a lower abutment surface of the stop sleeve;
- (e) limiting downward movement of the agitator by contacting an upper surface of a filter with a lower surface of agitator blades of the agitator;
- and
- (f) sweeping the upper surface of the filter by contacting the upper surface of the filter with the lower surface of the agitator blades;
- wherein the downward motion of the agitator blades during the reciprocal movement of the agitator is arrested by abutment with the upper surface of the filter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.