Calculating Cellular Mass Balance After Corning® X-SERIES® Processing

In order to ensure a Corning X-LAB® or X-WASH® protocol is optimized, it is recommended to perform a cellular mass balance to confirm cell recovery. By knowing the starting and final number of cells in the cartridge compartments there will be a better understanding of cell recovery and how to improve it. To differentiate between multiple cell types, a hematology analyzer, or similar method for quantifying the cell product of interest is required. Care must be taken to get the most accurate volume measurements possible as small inaccuracies in volume can have a large impact on yield. If unable to get accurate volume measurements, it is possible to use specific gravity to calculate volumes using information provided in Table 1. In this protocol, we will demonstrate how to perform mass balance using results from a typical mononuclear cell (MNC) isolation from whole blood as an example. It will be necessary to record values in a spreadsheet for analysis – a template can found at www.corning.com/XseriesMassBalanceTemplate or upon request by contacting your Corning Field Application Scientist.