Pathogen Reduction Technology Treatment of Platelets, Plasma and Whole Blood Using Riboflavin and UV Light

Abstract

Bacterial contamination and emerging infections combined with increased international travel pose a great risk to the safety of the blood supply. Tests to detect the presence of infection in a donor have a ‘window period’ during which infections cannot be detected but the donor may be infectious. Agents and their transmission routes need to be recognized before specific tests can be developed. Pathogen reduction of blood components represents a means to address these concerns and is a proactive approach for the prevention of transfusion-transmitted diseases. The expectation of a pathogen reduction system is that it achieves high enough levels of pathogen reduction to reduce or prevent the likelihood of disease transmission while preserving adequate cell and protein quality. In addition the system needs to be nontoxic, non-mutagenic and should be simple to use. The Mirasol® Pathogen Reduction Technology (PRT) System for Platelets and Plasma uses riboflavin (vitamin B2) plus UV light to induce damage in nucleic acid-containing agents. The system has been shown to be effective against clinically relevant pathogens and inactivates leukocytes without significantly compromising the efficacy of the product or resulting in product loss. Riboflavin is a naturally occurring vitamin with a well-known and well-characterized safety profile. The same methodology is currently under development for the treatment of whole blood, making pathogen reduction of all blood products using one system achievable. This review gives an overview of the Mirasol PRT System, summarizing the mechanism of action, toxicology profile, pathogen reduction performance and clinical efficacy of the process.

Strategies to Preclude Hepatitis C Virus Entry

“…However, the riboflavin/UV pathogen reduction technology is being adapted to the treatment of whole blood [175] and has been shown recently to contribute to lower the risk of malaria transmission in a clinical study in Ghana [176]. It is still uncertain whether a pathogen reduction technology can be developed to substantially inactivate HCV in whole blood or red blood cell concentrates without detrimentally affecting their transfusion quality and functionality or immunogenic potential.…”

Pathogen Inactivation Plays an Irreplaceable Role in Safeguarding the Safety of Blood Transfusion

“…Mirasol® (Terumo BCT, USA), based on Riboflavin/UVB PI technology, has been used in a number of blood centers in many countries and received CE Class II b mark approval for platelets inactivation in October 2007 and plasma in August 2008. As for the Theraflex UV-Platelets system, it cannot be used routinely because further clinical evaluation is needed [11,13].…”

Modern treatments for purulent corneal ulcers

“…Первоначально антимикробное действие фото-сенсибилизации с использованием рибофлавина нашло применение в области трансфузиологии (си-стема Mirasol PRT) [18].…”