Filter removes prions from blood product used in transfusions

April 8, 2008 | Source: KurzweilAI

ProMetic Life Sciences researchers have developed a blood filter able to remove the prions that cause variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (the human form of mad cow disease) from a blood product used for transfusions.

The filter contains ligands on a resin scaffold material that recognize and bind to prions. It can remove them from red blood cell concentrate in less than an hour. Future versions will work on other blood components, including plasma and plasma proteins

There is currently no reliable blood test for detecting the disease or destroying the infectious prion proteins in blood.

American Chemical Society News Release