Freeze-dried whole plasma: evaluating sucrose, trehalose, sorbitol, mannitol and glycine as stabilizers.

Several groups report stability results for freeze-dried whole plasma intended for use as a transfusion product [Hellstern P, Sachse H, Schwinn H, Oberfrank K. Manufacture and in vitro characterization of a solvent/detergent-treated human plasma. Vox Sang 1992;63:178-185; Trobisch H.

Effects of blood product storage protectants on blood coagulation.

The ever-increasing demand for blood products challenges scientists to develop new and more effective techniques for their preservation. The progress of these novel preservation technologies uses a wide variety of cryoprotectant, lyoprotectant, and other preservatives, which will need to be explored and assessed for their biological effects during blood product formulation. The leading factor in protectant selection is for their ability to provide superior preservation for a particular blood product.

Hypertonic resuscitation and blood coagulation: in vitro comparison of several hypertonic solutions for their action on platelets and plasma coagulation.

Resuscitation with hypertonic saline (HS) appears to aggravate bleeding in a model of uncontrolled hemorrhage [J. Trauma 28 (1988) 751; J. Trauma 29 (1989) 79; Arch.

Effect of taurine on platelets and the plasma coagulation system.

It is not yet clear what exact mechanisms are at work in hibernating animals that prevent clot formation and maintain tissue perfusion under conditions of very slow blood flow and increased blood viscosity brought about by the low temperatures. It has been shown that the total amino acid pool increases more then two fold in hibernating animals with taurine accounting for about 50% of this increase [Storey et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1988; 85(21): 8350-4].

Effects of alpha-tocopherol on platelets and the coagulation system.

Vitamin E is one of the most widely used antioxidants in cryopreservation and preservation technology. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of vitamin E on platelets and the coagulation system. Vitamin E was added at different concentrations in the range between 0.

Reversible cross-linking and CO treatment as an approach in red cell stabilization.

We explored the use of the reversible cross-linking reagent dimethyl 3,3-dithiobispropionimidate (DTBP) in combination with CO treatment as an approach to stabilizing erythrocyte structure and function. Erythrocytes were cross-linked with different concentrations of DTBP for different times. DTBP increased erythrocyte osmotic stability, blocked lysolecithin-induced echinocytosis, and decreased erythrocyte deformability in a concentration- and time-dependent manner.

Effects of high-molecular-weight cryoprotectants on platelets and the coagulation system.

The objective of this study is to examine the effects of the most widely used high-molecular-weight cryoprotectants on the coagulation system. Dextran, hydryoxyethyl starch (HES), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and albumin were added at different concentrations in the range between 0.01-1% (w/v) to solvent/detergent-treated plasma.

Effects of alkanols, alkanediols and glycerol on red blood cell shape and hemolysis.

The physicochemical effects of a series of alkanols, alkanediols and glycerol on erythrocyte shape and hemolysis at 4 and 20 degrees C were examined. We calculated the dielectric constant of the incubation medium, Ds, and the dielectric constant of the erythrocyte membrane Dm in the presence of organic solutes. The ratio Ds/Dm = -38.

The solute permeability of thylakoid membranes is reduced by low concentrations of trehalose as a co-solute.

The different efficiencies of sucrose and trehalose in protecting isolated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) thylakoids against freeze-thaw damage is quantitatively related to their ability to reduce the solute loading of the vesicles during freezing. In the present paper we show that this effect is based on a reduction of the solute permeability of the membranes.

Galactose-Specific Lectins Protect Isolated Thylakoids against Freeze-Thaw Damage.

We have measured freeze-thaw damage to isolated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplast thylakoid membranes in the presence of different galactose-specific seed lectins to determine whether the binding of proteins to the membrane surface can lead to cryoprotection. Of the seven lectins investigated, five were protective to different degrees and two showed no measurable effect.