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Incorporating effective platelet rich plasma (PRP) procedures into your orthopedic or aesthetic practice serves the needs of your patients by providing a low risk option for many challenging conditions. Adhering to well-founded protocols and choosing the right PRP kit will significantly improve outcomes. It’s vital for patients and physicians alike to understand the fundamental differences between the various PRP kits on the market and how these differences affect PRP platelet concentration. Third party analysis shows that EmCyte PurePRP kits produce PRP with platelet concentration levels 6.7x higher than whole blood levels, while Eclipse PRP kits produce PRP with half the platelet concentration levels of whole blood.¹ This article discusses the methodological differences between Eclipse PRP and EmCyte PurePRP kits and explains how these differences directly affect PRP potency.
Third Party Analysis of Commercial PRP Kits
Third party analysis was conducted by Robert Mandle, PhD, who lead a team at BioSciences Research Associates (BSR) in 2016 to compare growth factor release and platelet concentration amongst commercially available PRP kits. BSR is an independent contract research laboratory located in Cambridge and once academically affiliated with Harvard Medical School. BSR is currently affiliated with the Immune Disease Institute at Harvard and as such draws from a community of nearly 400 bioscience researchers. The BSR laboratory complies with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) to assist pharmaceutical and biotech companies in product development and clinical trial support.
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This study compares platelet concentration and growth factor release between 5 different prp kits:
- Emcyte GS30-PurePRP II
- Emcyte GS60-PurePRP II
- Arteriocyte MAGELLAN
- REGENKIT THT Tube
- ECLIPSE PRP
The researchers drew approximately 200 ml of blood from 4 “healthy” donors and recorded the concentration levels of platelets, stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1α), and platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) in the final serum produced by each PRP kit. Donors were referenced with code numbers; age, sex and ethnicity were not tracked.
Blood was drawn into the presence of an anticoagulant according the manufacturer’s protocol to keep platelets from degranulating during centrifugation. Anticoagulants included sodium citrate, and ACD-A citrate dextrose solution (see anticoagulant table for proportions according to kit).
Anticoagulants Used in Study
| PRP Kit | Anticoagulant | Blood volume |
| Emcyte GS30-PurePRP®II | 5mL Na Citrate | 25 ml |
| Emcyte GS60-PurePRP®II | 10mL Na Citrate | 50 ml |
| Arteriocyte MAGELLAN | 8mL ACD-A | 52 ml |
| REGENKIT®THT Tube | 1mL Citrate | 8 ml |
| ECLIPSE PRP | ≈1mL* | ≈ 9mL |
*material not listed (unknown polymer/anticoagulant mix)
PRP from Dual Centrifugation
The EmCyte kits produce PRP using a dual centrifugation method, while the Eclipse PRP kits rely on a gel separator to stratify blood elements within a single centrifuge spin. Differential centrifugation stratifies the composition of blood by particle density. Dual centrifugation allows more time for platelets to fall out of suspension from the plasma and creates a finer separation between components of blood. The 30ml and 60ml EmCyte Pure PRP kits produced 4 and 7.4ml of PRP from 25 and 50ml of blood respectively.
Gel Separators and PRP
The 11ml Eclipse kit yields 7 ml of platelet poor plasma (PPP) from 9 ml of blood with a gel separator. Gel separators utilize a polymer to stratify blood components. The soluble polymer has a specific density between pure PRP and the heavier blood elements that are generally excluded such as red and white blood cells. During centrifugation, the polymer creates a physical barrier between PPP and the heavier blood elements. This gel-based separation method is very effective at isolating red blood cells, producing a plasma serum with low hematocrit levels. Though red blood cells are effectively isolated, platelet concentration actually declines from whole blood levels, because the gel polymer can only target platelets of a specific density. In actuality, individual platelet density falls along a wide spectrum, so many of the platelets are left behind.
A “PRP” Kit that Produces PPP?
This study shows that Eclipse PRP kits produce platelet poor plasma (PPP) – a serum with half the concentration of platelets as the patient’s whole blood (0.5x). The term platelet “rich” plasma can only be used to refer to plasma serums that have platelet concentration levels that are higher than those found in the patient’s whole blood. EmCyte kits produced a PRP that has platelet concentration levels 6.7 times higher than the patient’s whole blood.
Platelet Concentration Levels (above blood baseline)
| PRP Kit | Platelet Concentration |
| Emcyte GS30-PurePRP®II | 6.6x |
| Emcyte GS60-PurePRP®II | 6.7x |
| Arteriocyte MAGELLAN | 5.7x |
| REGENKIT® THT | 0.7x |
| ECLIPSE PRP | 0.5x |
Hematocrit levels in Eclipse and EmCyte PurePRP
Hematocrit refers to the ratio of the volume of red blood cells in the total volume of blood. Excessive hematocrit levels have been linked to pain and bruising at the injection site. Though the Eclipse gel strategy fails to effectively concentrate platelets, the polymer substance completely eliminates red blood cells from the final product. Researchers found 0% hematocrit levels in the PPP produced by Eclipse kits and 1.1% hematocrit levels in the PRP produced by EmCyte kits. In a dual spin system, final hematocrit levels vary depending on how carefully the serum is prepared.
How to keep hematocrit levels low in a dual spin system;
- After transferring blood into the concentrator device, flush the connecting tube with 0.5ml of anticoagulant. This will keep RBC in the connecting tube out of the final product.
- Carefully remove concentrator device from the centrifuge so as to not disturb stratification.
- Practitioners may dilute PRP with saline to manipulate the final platelet concentration and further decrease RBC count.
While platelet concentration and growth factor release vary from person to person, third party research has confirmed that the Eclipse PRP kits fail to produce PRP. Eclipse kits produce an injectable PPP serum with platelet levels below that of the patient’s blood baseline. On the other hand, using a dual centrifugation method, EmCyte’s PurePRP kits effectively produce PRP with platelet concentration levels 6.7 times higher than those found in the patient’s whole blood. The final serum is easily diluted with saline to achieve optimal dose concentration depending on the indication.
References
- Mandel R. Research Study: Comparisons of Emcyte GS30-PurePRP II, EmCyte GS60-PurePRP II, Arteriocyte Magellan, Stryker REGENKIT THT, and ECLIPSE PRP. Biosciences Research Associates. 2016; May.[pdf]
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