| abstract |
A suspension of cellular material which is subject to trauma is passed from inlet 22 to outlet 34 axially along a shear gap between a stationary outer wall 24 and a cylindrical membrane 62 carried by a rotating spinner 50 and plasma is filtered off through the membrane and withdrawn through axial passage 76. The membrane has a pore size of not less than 0.4µm. The width of the gap and the rate of rotation of the spinner are chosen such as to establish a shear rate in excess of 1000 sec⁻¹ across the gap. The spinner 50 is driven by magnetic coupling 68, 74 from outside the housing 40, 12, 44 which thus forms a disposable unit. n In a construction for separation of anti-freeze solution with white cells from frozen concentrated red cells, saline solution is introduced through a porous outer wall 12 and passes radially through the mixture to carry the anti-freeze and white cells through the membrane. |