Abstract
Platelet concentrates are used for transfusion to treat excessive bleeding and should be stored at room temperature with constant agitation to keep functionality. However, various problems for the preservation are pointed out: ex, the short storage period, contamination, etc. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate the function of platelets to ensure the quality of platelets.
The purpose of this study is to develop a simplified method to evaluate the platelet function using dielectrophoresis (DEP) and to assess the validity of our method. The DEP is a phenomenon caused under a non-uniform electric field by inducing dipoles within a polarized particle. Particles can be moved by DEP force toward high or low electric field regions, depending on their relative electric property.
In this study, the dielectrophoretic properties of different platelet samples (thrombin activation, change in storage period) were evaluated. Moreover, the hypothesis that the platelet phenotype could be identified by DEP. From the results, the differences among these samples were characterized. In summary, it was suggested that the phenotypical change of platelets could be detected by our novel DEP method.
