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Ficoll for Blood Separation: Mechanism & Applications

Ficoll-Paque (polysaccharide polymer) creates a density gradient (~1.077 g/mL) for isolating blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) via centrifugation.

Separation Process

  1. Layer diluted blood over Ficoll.
  2. Centrifuge (400–800 × g, 20–30 min, no brake).
  3. Layers form: Plasma (top) → PBMC layer (lymphocytes, monocytes) → Ficoll → RBCs/Granulocytes (pellet).
  4. Aspirate PBMC interface; wash cells.

Key Advantages

  • High viability (>90%) and purity of mononuclear cells.
  • Low toxicity; cells remain functional for culture, flow cytometry, assays.
  • Standardized, scalable, cost-effective.

Applications

  • Immunology research (T/B/NK cell studies).
  • Cell therapy manufacturing (CAR-T, dendritic cell vaccines).
  • Diagnostic testing (HLA typing, viral load).

Ficoll remains the gold standard for PBMC isolation from whole blood.

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