APPLICATION OF HIGH FREQUENCY SONIC WAVES TO THE TREATMENT OF PLASMA,
Abstract
The object of the present study was to find out the conditions under which plasma could be stored without the deposition (precipitation) of fibrin. It was necessary to make sure as to the sterility of the plasma; however, the first experiments revealed that, in contrast to serum, plasma cannot be filtered through a filter, inasmuch as rapid coagulation takes place when plasma is passed through an asbestos plate. It was therefore expedient to produce the desirable changes in the properties of plasma by a physical method of treatment, i.e., without the introduction of additional, and at times also harmful, chemical substances. The problem was to select such a form of physical action as would lead to a comminution of the large molecules or aggregates present in the plasma, and in this manner create conditions for the more rapid passage of the plasma through the sterilizing plate. The latter condition should result in a retardation of the rate of adsorption and activation of prothrombin into thrombin. In this work low power (energy) sound waves were used. Waves of a higher frequency (ultrasonic) could have caused not only disintegration of the large albumin molecules or of their complexes, but could have also changed the structure of the albumin molecule itself. It was found that the sonic treatment of plasma, without subsequent filtration, does not protect it from fibrin deposition (precipitation). However, the sonic treatment makes filtration possible, while the filtration makes it possible to store plasma for long periods of time. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1953
- Accession Number
- AD0678128
Entities
People
- R. A. Rutberg
Organizations
- United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories