Single-use and syringe-based

Everything that touches the blood is single-use. The working configuration includes:

  • Premixed excipient (proprietary polymer solution)
  • 30 mL Luer-lock processing syringe
  • Excipient draw needle
  • Butterfly venipuncture set
  • Luer-lock syringe cap
  • Female-to-female Luer connector
  • Plastic positioning clamp
  • Labels and instructions

Working configuration under development; final components, packaging, and sterility claims remain subject to verification. A second sterile 20 mL syringe, supplied by the user, collects the plasma.

Render: the No Spin PRP kit tray with syringe, excipient vial, positioning clamp, needle, cap, connector, and butterfly set
Fig. 1The kit in its working configuration (render).

1A proprietary polymer solution stacks red cells into rouleaux

The processing syringe is primed with a premixed excipient: a proprietary polymer solution with an anticoagulant. The polymer promotes reversible aggregation of red cells into stacks called rouleaux.

Stokes’ law. Settling speed v rises with the square of particle radius r, so aggregates settle much faster than single red cells. Platelets, far smaller, settle much more slowly.

Illustration: rouleaux (stacked red cells) with smaller platelets suspended in plasma
Fig. 2Rouleaux form among much smaller platelets (illustration).

2The Boycott effect shortens the settling path

In 1920, A. E. Boycott reported that blood corpuscles settle faster in an inclined tube than in a vertical one.1 Tilted, the cells need to fall only a short distance to reach the lower wall; they slide down it while clarified plasma streams up along the upper wall.

The No Spin PRP® System rests the syringe tip-up at about 30°, held by a positioning clamp on the plunger flange.

Diagram comparing a vertical tube with a tube tilted 30 degrees
Fig. 3Same blood, same time, normal gravity: vertical versus tilted 30° (schematic).

3An upper plasma layer, ready to transfer

An upper plasma layer forms above the red cells. Keeping the tip up, the plasma is transferred slowly into a second syringe through a female-to-female Luer connector, stopping before the red-cell interface reaches the connector.

Visual appearance alone does not establish platelet count, function, or sterility.

Render: the processing syringe after settling, with a golden plasma layer above the red cells
Fig. 4The processing syringe after settling (render).

The working procedure at a glance

Development draft. For research, the approved study protocol governs; parameters are subject to change as development continues.

  1. Draw the excipient

    The premixed polymer solution goes into the 30 mL processing syringe.

  2. Collect blood

    Venous blood is drawn into the same syringe.

  3. Mix gently

    Slow, complete end-over-end inversions. No shaking.

  4. Settle

    Tip up at about 30°, undisturbed, for about 30 minutes.

  5. Transfer

    The upper plasma layer moves to a second syringe.

What development studies will evaluate

  1. 01

    PRP composition

    Cell counts, platelet concentration, and pH of the prepared plasma.

  2. 02

    Platelet function

    Activation state and responsiveness of platelets after preparation.

  3. 03

    Bone-graft handling

    How PRP–graft mixtures handle compared with appropriate controls.

References

  1. Boycott AE. Sedimentation of blood corpuscles. Nature. 1920;104:532. doi:10.1038/104532b0