Abstract
Purpose: :
Autologous serum eye drops used to treat patients with dry eye are generally produced after filtration of diluted serum from the patients’ blood in the laboratory. The aim of this study was to evaluate the adsorption of various growth factor peptides in the serum by syringe filters during the preparation of autologous serum eye drops.
Methods: :
Diluted (x5) autologous serum derived from the blood of 6 healthy volunteers was produced using three syringe filters (0.2 um) made of hydrophilic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVFD, Millex® GV, Merck Millipore), polyethersulphone (PES, HP1002, PharmAssure® Pharmacy), and mixed esters of cellulose nitrate cellulose acetate (MEC, Millex® GS, Merck Millipore). The concentrations of transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1), substance P, epidermal growth factor (EGF), and albumin in diluted serum were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay before and after filtration to evaluate adsorption by the syringe filters.
Results: :
Significantly (P < 0.001, Tukey test) less adsorption of TGF-beta1 was observed with the PVFD filter (12.0±4.0%) than with the PES (41.3±4.3%) and MEC (59.3±5.9%) filters, respectively. There was also significantly (P < 0.05, Tukey test) less adsorption of substance P with the PVFD filter (40.2±9.7%) than with the PES and MEC filters (70.6±16.0% and 72.4±16.0%, respectively). There were no significant differences among the rates of adsorption of EGF and albumin with the three filters.
Conclusions: :
Attention should be paid to variations in adsorption properties with syringe filters when preparing autologous serum eye drops.
Keywords: cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye