UV light-emitting diode (UV-LED) at 265 nm as a potential light source for disinfecting human platelet concentrates

• Published in: PloS one 2021-05, Vol.16 (5), p.e0251650-e0251650
• Main Authors: Hayashi, Tomoya, Oguma, Kumiko, Fujimura, Yoshihiro, Furuta, Rika A, Tanaka, Mitsunobu, Masaki, Mikako, Shinbata, Yasuhito, Kimura, Takafumi, Tani, Yoshihiko, Hirayama, Fumiya, Takihara, Yoshihiro, Takahashi, Koki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Auroral kilometric radiation; Bacteria; Biology and Life Sciences; Blood; Blood platelets; Cloning; Cold; Cold storage; Culture; Deactivation; Disinfection; E coli; Editing; Flow velocity; Glycoproteins; Health aspects; High flow; Inactivation; Infection control; Light emitting diodes; Light sources; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methods; Pathogens; Platelets; Radiation; Regulatory agencies; Reviews; Room temperature; Shelf life; Sterilization; Transfusion; Ultraviolet radiation; Water treatment
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251650

The risk of sepsis through bacterial transmission is one of the most serious problems in platelet transfusion. In processing platelet concentrates (PCs), several methods have been put into practice to minimize the risk of bacterial transmission, such as stringent monitoring by cultivation assays and inactivation treatment by photoirradiation with or without chemical agents. As another potential option, we applied a light-emitting diode (LED) with a peak emission wavelength of 265 nm, which has been shown to be effective for water, to disinfect PCs. In a bench-scale UV-LED exposure setup, a 10-min irradiation, corresponding to an average fluence of 9.2 mJ/cm2, resulted in >2.0 log, 1.0 log, and 0.6 log inactivation (mean, n = 6) of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus, respectively, in non-diluted plasma PCs. After a 30-min exposure, platelet counts decreased slightly (18 ± 7%: mean ± SD, n = 7); however, platelet surface expressions of CD42b, CD61, CD62P, and PAC-1 binding did not change significantly (P>0.005), and agonist-induced aggregation and adhesion/aggregation under flow conditions were well maintained. Our findings indicated that the 265 nm UV-LED has high potential as a novel disinfection method to ensure the microbial safety of platelet transfusion.