A device developed at the EHU makes it simple to obtain platelet-rich plasma
Researchers in the Microfluidics Cluster on the Alava campus design a portable, cost-effective system for generating high-quality, platelet-rich plasma
2025-07-23
(Press-News.org)
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a fraction of blood plasma; its concentration of platelets is of great value in regenerative medicine as they are essential in accelerating healing and repairing tissue. Until now, obtaining them has been based on centrifugation techniques which, in addition to being expensive, could activate the platelets prematurely and reduce their effectiveness.
“We realised that our device not only separated the plasma, but also obtained very high-quality PRP, with functional and minimally activated platelets,” explained the Ikerbasque Research Professor Lourdes Basabe.
Innovation from sedimentation
Unlike traditional methods, the system developed at the University of the Basque Country (EHU) uses gravity sedimentation (a physical separation process in which the solid particles, which are denser than the fluid, settle at the bottom of a container due to the force of gravity, a routine method for removing solids suspended in liquids). The system comprises laser-cut acrylic sheets and special adhesives, which means it can be manufactured at a low cost. In just 40 minutes, it can extract around 300 micro-litres of PRP from 1 millilitre of blood, thereby minimising handling.
The results obtained with this new system are very interesting indeed. Platelet activation could be significantly reduced, reaching a level of 8.2 % as opposed 31 % seen in traditional methods. What is more, the mean platelet volume (MPV) was maintained, which is essential for maintaining the therapeutic efficacy of PRP. It was also possible to eliminate 98% of red blood cells and 96% of white blood cells. Another significant advantage is that this method can be adjusted to process a higher or lower quantity of blood, thus maintaining its effectiveness at all times.
A finding produced by years of research
This development is the result of the ongoing work of the team, which has spent over a decade researching what are known as Lab-on-a-Chip technologies. In other words, ones that concentrate and automate various functions that normally require large, complex equipment into a single, small device, even the size of a chip. In other words, it is like having an entire laboratory operating in a space that fits into the palm of one’s hand. During the course of this research, the scientists observed that the composition of the plasma separated in their devices was particularly rich in low-activated platelets. Based on this observation, they redesigned the system for therapeutic purposes. The result is a disposable, portable, low-cost, and easy-to-use device with the potential for use in resource-limited clinical settings, personalised treatments, or even home healthcare.
The lead author of the work is Dr Pablo Enrique Guevara-Pantoja, post-PhD researcher in the Microfluidics Cluster EHU research group thanks to a prestigious Marie Curie COFUND grant. With a solid international track record in microfluidics and biomedical engineering, he has been the lead author of multiple high-impact publications and is the co-inventor of several patents in the field of diagnostics and bioengineering.
Intellectual property protection and transfer
The technology has been protected by a Spanish patent and the group is currently seeking clinical, industrial or investment partnerships to scale up the system and facilitate its release onto the market and into healthcare settings.
The full, open-access article can be consulted in the journal Lab on a Chip: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/lc/d5lc00362h
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2025-07-23
Scientists discover brain switch that controls freeze-or-flight survival instincts
Leuven, Belgium, 23 July 2025 – Researchers have identified a key neural switch that controls whether animals instinctively flee from a threat or freeze in place. By comparing two closely related deer-mouse species, they found that this switch is calibrated by evolution to match the animal's habitat. This neural circuit is hypersensitive in mice living in densely vegetated environments, causing instant escape, but less responsive in their open-field cousins, who are more likely to freeze. In doing so, the research team uncovered an important way in which evolution fine-tunes the brain for survival.
Flee ...
2025-07-23
Genome assemblies from 65 individuals, representing a variety of the world’s populations, are advancing the scientific exploration of complex genetic structural variation.
Structural variations are genetic code alterations that span more than 50 base pairs, the rungs on the DNA ladder. These changes were hard to detect until the recent advent of newer sequencing technologies and analytical algorithms, as well as larger collections of more complete, diverse genomes.
Results from the latest work in this area, conducted by the Human Genome Structural Variation Consortium with participants ...
2025-07-23
An international team of scientists has decoded some of the most stubborn, overlooked regions of the human genome using complete sequences from 65 individuals across diverse ancestries. The study, published online today in Nature and co-led by The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), reveals how hidden DNA variations that influence everything from digestion and immune response to muscle control—and could explain why certain diseases strike some populations harder than others.
This milestone builds on two foundational studies that reshaped the field of genomics. In 2022, ...
2025-07-23
Body coverings such as hair and feathers have played a central role in evolution. They enabled warm-bloodedness by insulating the body, and were used for courtship, display, deterrence of enemies and, in the case of feathers, flight. Their structure is characterised by longer and more complex skin outgrowths that differ significantly from the simple and flat scales of reptiles. Complex skin outgrowths have previously only been observed in mammals in the form of hair and in birds and their closest fossil relatives, dinosaurs and pterosaurs, in the form of feathers. An international team led by palaeontologists Dr Stephan Spiekman and Prof Dr Rainer Schoch from the State ...
2025-07-23
While current treatments for schizophrenia — a mental illness affecting 1% of the world’s population — can reduce certain symptoms, they have little effect on the cognitive deficits affecting the daily life of patients.
Scientists at the Institute of Functional Genomics (CNRS/Inserm/Université de Montpellier) have just designed a nanobody made from llama antibodies that can specifically activate a glutamate receptor involved in regulating neural activity. Administered peripherally via veins or muscles, this new molecule has demonstrated its capacity to break the blood-brain barrier and effectively reach brain receptors.
The therapeutic effect of these nanobodies ...
2025-07-23
The Best-Laid Plans of Mice
Study shows how evolution sent deer mice scurrying down two different paths of escape
For a mouse, survival often boils down to one urgent question: flee or freeze?
But the best strategy to avoid being snatched and eaten depends on which mouse you are asking. According to a new study by Harvard biologists, two closely-related species of deer mice have evolved very different responses to aerial predators thanks to tweaks in brain circuitry. One species that dwells in densely-vegetated areas instinctively darts for cover while a cousin living in open ...
2025-07-23
by Shantell Kirkendoll
In a breakthrough that reimagines the way the gut and brain communicate, researchers have uncovered what they call a “neurobiotic sense,” a newly identified system that lets the brain respond in real time to signals from microbes living in our gut.
The new research, led by Duke University School of Medicine neuroscientists Diego Bohórquez, PhD, and M. Maya Kaelberer, PhD, and published in Nature, centers on neuropods, tiny sensor cells lining the colon’s epithelium. These cells detect a common microbial protein and send rapid messages to the brain that help curb appetite.
But this ...
2025-07-23
About The Study: In this cohort and nested case-control study among CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults; a prospective study) participants, moderate to vigorous–intensity physical activity (MVPA) declined from early adulthood to midlife then plateaued, with notable demographic differences; cases experienced steep declines before cardiovascular disease (CVD), and gaps compared to controls persisted afterward. Black women had the lowest MVPA across adulthood and the highest risk of low MVPA post-CVD, underscoring the need to support lifelong physical activity and address group differences.
Corresponding ...
2025-07-23
About The Study: In this contemporary cohort of women diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40 or younger, risk of isolated locoregional recurrence was relatively low (5.6%) at a median follow-up of 10.1 years, and significant differences were not seen by tumor subtype. Concerns for long-term risk of locoregional recurrence should not influence surgical decision-making with young women, irrespective of molecular subtype.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Laura Dominici, MD, email ldominici@bwh.harvard.edu.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2025.2324)
Editor’s ...
2025-07-23
Mosquitoes kill more people each year than any other animal. In 2023, the blood-sucking insects infected a reported 263 million people with malaria, leading to nearly 600,000 deaths, 80% of which were children.
Recent efforts to block the transmission of malaria have been stalled because mosquitoes have adapted resistance to insecticides and the parasites within mosquitoes that cause malaria have become resistant to drugs. These setbacks have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, which impeded ongoing anti-malarial efforts.
Now, researchers at the University of California San Diego, Johns Hopkins University, UC Berkeley and the University of São Paulo have ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] A device developed at the EHU makes it simple to obtain platelet-rich plasma
Researchers in the Microfluidics Cluster on the Alava campus design a portable, cost-effective system for generating high-quality, platelet-rich plasma
