Plasma constituent integrity in pre-storage vs. post-storage riboflavin and UV-light treatment – A comparative study Bela Balint a,b,c,⇑ , Dragana Jovicic-Gojkov b , Milena Todorovic-Balint d,e , Vesna Subota c,f , Mirjana Pavlovic g , Raymond Goodrich h a Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Serbia b Institute for Transfusiology and Hemobiology of MMA, Belgrade, Serbia c Faculty of Medicine of MMA, University of Defense, Serbia d Clinic for Hematology, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia e Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia f Institute for Medical Biochemistry of MMA, Belgrade, Serbia g Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, FAU, FL, USA h TerumoBCT, Lakewood, CO, USA article info Article history: Received 10 September 2012 Accepted 16 May 2013 Keywords: Riboflavin Ultraviolet light Virus inactivation Plasma abstract Treatment of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) by riboflavin (RB) and ultraviolet (UV) light inhibits nucleic acid replication, leading to inactivation of white blood cells (WBCs) and pathogens. The goal of this study was to compare the effects of pathogen reduction technology (PRT) treatment on the plasma protein content based on biochemical, immune and hemostatic characteristics in ‘‘typical’’ pre-storage vs. post-storage PRT-treatment setting. Following whole blood centrifugation, separated plasma units were: (a) inactivated and frozen (pre-storage setting or control group [CG]) or (b) immediately frozen (post-storage setting or study group [SG]) afterward thawed, inactivated and stored at À40 ± 5 °C (cryos- torage). Plasma units were inactivated by the Mirasol PRT system (TerumoBCT, USA). Using multi-laboratory techniques and equipments, biochemistry (Advia 1800; Siemens, Ger- many), IgM, IgG and IgA, complement components C3 and C4 (BNA II nefelometer analyzer; Siemens, Germany), as well as CH50 activity (Behring coagulation timer; Siemens, Ger- many) were investigated. Procoagulant and inhibitor factors, such as antithrombin-III (AT-III), and protein C (PC) were determined by BCS XP Coagulation system (Siemens, Ger- many). There were neither significant changes in final protein levels, nor any differences in plasma immunoglobulin levels investigated. In the final samples CH50 activity was reduced in both investigated groups. The plasma concentration of the complement C3 fol- lowing post-storage treatment was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than in pre-storage set- ting. There was a trend of depletion of procoagulant activities in both, pre-storage and post-storage PRT-treatment (initial vs. final values), but there were no significant differ- ences between two groups. Results confirmed that AT-III was significantly higher after post-storage inactivation. In conclusion, this study confirmed that there were not clinically relevant intergroup (pre-storage vs. post-storage PRT-treatment) differences in plasma constituent levels. 1473-0502/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.transci.2013.05.035 ⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Institute for Transfusiology and Hemobiology of MMA, Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica, PO Box 102, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia. Tel.: +381 628344133. E-mail address: belabalint26@yahoo.com (B. Balint). Transfusion and Apheresis Science 49 (2013) 434–439 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Transfusion and Apheresis Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/transci