Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell (PBMC) Isolation Using Cell Fractionation Filters

By Supriya Prakash*, Sharlene Amador, and Jeff Cram

BaseCamp scientists have pioneered an innovative approach for isolating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from whole blood using high-precision cell separation and fractionation filters with pore sizes ranging from 5 to 9 µm. This novel method achieves up to 80% recovery of CD3+ T cells — representing a two-fold improvement over traditional Ficoll gradient separation — while preserving high cell viability and ensuring effective depletion of red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets. The enhanced efficiency of this PBMC isolation process enables the creation of a closed-system T cell enrichment workflow that operates directly from whole blood, eliminating the need for leukapheresis collections.

This breakthrough has the potential to revolutionize CAR-T cell manufacturing by significantly reducing costs, shortening production timelines, and increasing accessibility for patients in need of these potentially life-saving therapies. By streamlining the entire process, this innovation offers a promising path toward making CAR-T treatments more efficient and widely available to a broader patient population.