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Psoralen Treated Platelets
2026-02-10
Platelet transfusion is a key means of clinical treatment of hemorrhagic diseases, but its room temperature storage characteristics make it susceptible to pathogen contamination. The emergence of photochemical treatment technology for psoralen provides an effective solution to this problem. Need to buy psoralen? Please click here to contact us.
How psoralen treated platelets?
The core of psoralen treatment of platelets is to inactivate pathogens through photochemical action. Currently, the most mature application is in the INTERCEPT blood system.
The process mainly consists of three steps: First, a synthetic psoralen compound (such as amoxicillin) is mixed with platelet concentrate to selectively bind to the DNA and RNA of pathogens at a final concentration of 150 μM; then, it is irradiated with 320-400 nm UVA light to induce irreversible covalent cross-linking between psoralen and nucleic acids, blocking the replication and transcription of pathogens; finally, it is incubated for 6-16 hours using a composite adsorption device to remove almost all residual psoralen and its photoproducts, ensuring the safety of infusion.
The entire process must be started within 2 hours after collection. It can preserve the core functions of platelets such as adhesion and aggregation, and can also achieve efficient inactivation of nucleic acid pathogens such as bacteria and viruses.
Benefits of psoralen for platelets
Psoralen processing technology brings multiple core advantages to platelet transfusion. The primary advantage is a significant improvement in transfusion safety, enabling multi-logarithmic inactivation of various pathogens such as bacteria, West Nile virus, and Zika virus. Clinical data from multiple European countries show that platelets treated with this technology have not resulted in confirmed sepsis transfusion reactions.
Secondly, this psoralen technology can inactivate donor lymphocytes, effectively preventing transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD) and providing additional protection for immunocompromised patients.
Furthermore, the shelf life of treated platelets can be extended to 7 days, significantly reducing product spoilage and improving blood bank inventory management efficiency. Simultaneously, studies have confirmed that psoralen treatment does not increase morphological storage damage to platelets, and their mitochondrial function and canalicular system stability are not significantly different from untreated platelets, ensuring the effectiveness of clinical transfusions.
Market applications of psoralen treated platelets
Psoralen treated platelets have been successfully applied in many regions around the world. Europe was the first region to promote this technology, with Belgium, Switzerland, France, and other countries having achieved nationwide application. Switzerland, in particular, has achieved a record of over 200,000 transfusions without transfusion-transmitted bacterial infections using this technology.
After the technology was approved by the U.S. FDA in 2014, it was rapidly adopted in blood centers and hospitals in North America. It is currently mainly used for prophylactic transfusions after chemotherapy for cancer patients with acute myeloid leukemia and other cancers, as well as for large-volume transfusion scenarios such as trauma and organ transplantation.
Clinical practice has shown that when the infusion dose exceeds 0.65×10/10kg, psoralen treatment of platelets can extend the infusion interval to approximately 48 hours in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. In treating WHO grade 2 bleeding, high-dose products stored for no more than 4 days exhibit better hemostatic effects. Furthermore, due to its good safety profile, this technology is increasingly being applied to special populations such as pediatrics and neonatal intensive care.
Furthermore, in areas experiencing outbreaks of infectious diseases such as Zika and dengue fever, platelet treatment with psoralen eliminates the need for complex donor screening processes, allowing for rapid deployment and providing reliable safety for emergency blood transfusions. Currently, this technology is being promoted to more developing countries, contributing to the upgrading of global blood transfusion safety systems.
Where to buy psoralen powder？
✅High-quality psoralea corylifolia seed extract psoralen powder is a core ingredient for ensuring the effectiveness of platelet processing, and choosing a supplier with professional R&D and production capabilities is crucial.
✅Kintainutri®, located in Xi'an, is a biotechnology company with many years of experience in the plant extract field. Relying on our solid R&D capabilities and strict quality control system, we have become a trusted raw material partner in the industry.
✅We specialize in providing high-purity Psoralen Powder that meets pharmaceutical-grade standards, with product concentrations ranging from 5% to 98%. We also support customized synthesis based on your specific research and production needs, ensuring high efficiency and consistency in medical applications such as platelet photochemical processing.
Reference:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/vox.13574; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6979468/pdf/f1000research-9-22896.pdf; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7169244/pdf/VOXS-5-114.pdf; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16371039/;
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10497385/pdf/blt-21-400.pdf; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5949320/pdf/fmed-05-00129.pdf; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12580302/pdf/fmed-12-1682909.pdf; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6979468/pdf/f1000research-9-22896.pdf.