Application of Dynamic Light Scattering to study microparticles in platelet concentrates

Abstract

There is growing interest in quantitative estimation of extracellular vesicles in medical diagnostics, including microparticles determination in platelet concentrates. During storage, platelets undergo activation and generate microparticles, which are considered as promising biomarker of platelet concentrate quality. Since platelet transfusion is a lifesaving procedure, concentrate quality control is a problem of high interest. However, there remains a lack of convenient rapid methods of microparticles analysis that do not require labor-intensive sample preparation or special reagents. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) is a promising technique for this purpose; however, it is currently used primarily for characterizing monodisperse suspensions of nano- and microparticles. In contrast, platelet concentrate is a multicomponent suspension, making the determination of its size distribution a complex, ill-posed problem. A pilot study of platelet concentrates (N=11) was conducted using three analyzers: a flow cytofluorimeter (CytoFLEX, Beckman Coulter), a research DLS analyzer (Zetasizer Nano ZS, Malvern Panalytical) and a custom-designed DLS instrument. A strong correlation was observed between flow cytofluorimetry and DLS results (Spearman’s correlation coefficient r=0.9, p=0.0002), confirming the potential of DLS for this application. However, we showed that inner filter effect and microparticles shielding by platelets require rigorous standardization of measurement parameters. These observed effects were reproduced and studied using the model of polystyrene spheres with diameters corresponding to platelets and microparticles in concentrates.

Speaker

Peter A. Volkov
Russian Research Institute for Optical and Physical Measurements
Russia

Discussion

Ask question