Autoclave Sterilization of Polypropylene Plasma Separator

: A water-prefilled, autoclave-sterilized plasma separator (PS) was developed to improve handling procedures prior to use. Two types of polypropylene membranes differing in pore size were used to evaluate the effect of the autoclaving on various parameters. Their performance was evaluated by an in vitro filtration study using bovine blood. The membrane with the larger pore size showed a significantly (p < 0.05) higher filtration rate, although the sieving coefficients for proteins were similar to those for the membrane with the smaller pore size. The water-prefilled PS with autoclave sterilization showed filtration and sieving properties similar to those of the nonautoclaved PS. Its performance suggests that it might be acceptable for clinical study.