(Provided from Applicant): The purpose of the proposed project is to develop an improved technology for the decontamination of human plasma, which is the straw-colored liquid that remains after all of the cellular components have been removed. Rich in clotting proteins and immune factors, plasma is used for direct transfusion for patients with severe bleeding and for the manufacture of more than 100 separate pharmaceutical components Plasma is also rich in nutrients, however, and thus often harbors infectious pathogens, notably viruses such as HIV and the various strains of hepatitis. To reduce the risk of spreading diseases through plasma or its concentrated components, several decontamination techniques have therefore been developed. Unfortunately, these techniques are often expensive, unable to treat non-enveloped viruses, require the pooling of thousands of plasma units, severely damage the plasma proteins or leave some residual toxic chemical additives. The proposed technological innovation is to use ultrasound to improve the performance of two conventional technologies, UV light exposure and ozone treatment. Because both of these techniques are known to be quite effective individually, their combined abilities should yield a quite safe product. The desired benefits of adding ultrasound to this combination include cheaper operation, improved processing speed and greater effectiveness.
Plasma and plasma products already comprise a multi-billion dollar industry. The commercial potential of this research is to provide this industry with a new, more effective and cheaper technique to decontaminate plasma. The products to be sold include an automated processor and its unique disposables.
