Magnetic separation-based blood purification: a promising new approach for the removal of disease-causing compounds?

Recent studies report promising results regarding extracorporeal magnetic separation-based blood purification for the rapid and selective removal of disease-causing compounds from whole blood. High molecular weight compounds, bacteria and cells can be eliminated from blood within minutes, hence offering novel treatment strategies for the management of intoxications and blood stream infections. However, risks associated with incomplete particle separation and the biological consequences of particles entering circulation remain largely unclear. This article discusses the promising future of magnetic separation-based purification while keeping important safety considerations in mind.

Differentiating sepsis from non-infectious systemic inflammation based on microvesicle-bacteria aggregation.

Sepsis is a severe medical condition and a leading cause of hospital mortality. Prompt diagnosis and early treatment has a significant, positive impact on patient outcome. However, sepsis is not always easy to diagnose, especially in critically ill patients. Here, we present a conceptionally new approach for the rapid diagnostic differentiation of sepsis from non-septic intensive care unit patients. Using advanced microscopy and spectroscopy techniques, we measure infection-specific changes in the activity of nano-sized cell-derived microvesicles to bind bacteria. We report on the use of a point-of-care-compatible microfluidic chip to measure microvesicle-bacteria aggregation and demonstrate rapid (≤1.5 hour) and reliable diagnostic differentiation of bacterial infection from non-infectious inflammation in a double-blind pilot study. Our study demonstrates the potential of microvesicle activities for sepsis diagnosis and introduces microvesicle-bacteria aggregation as a potentially useful parameter for making early clinical management decisions.