The limited supplies of plasma, the cost of producing the dried form, and the risk of transmitting serum hepatitis stimulated the attempts to find substitutes of nonhuman origin that could be used to restore the blood volume temporarily while the recipient replaced the lost protein.
All blood products must comply with the official tests for sterility and those preparations that are exposed to special risk of contamination with pyrogens due to lengthy processing must also pass the pyrogen test.
Immunoglobulin or gamma globulin is obtained from the globulins fraction separated during the final stage of fractionating the plasma. Figure 10.2 shows the fractionation process. Figure 10.2 Fractionation of Immunoglobulins or Gamma Globulins The immunoglobulins are dissolved in a suitable solvent, usually 0.8% sodium chloride solution, and a preservative, such as 0.01% of thiomersal, is added. The solution…
This is a sponge-like mass of human fibrin. It is prepared by whipping a solution of fibrinogen into froth by mechanical means and then adding thrombin. The product is poured into trays and freeze-dried. Then, it is cut into pieces of convenient size and sterilized by dry heat at 130°C for three hours. Storage: Human fibrin…
Thrombin is the enzyme that converts fibrinogen to fibrin. The prothrombin obtained from the fractionation of plasma is washed with distilled water and dissolved in citrate saline. It is converted to thrombin by adjusting the pH to 7 and by adding thromboplastin and calcium ions. The solution is filtered and freeze-dried, and the air in…