A new polyvinylchloride blood bag plasticized with less-leachable phthalate ester analogue, di-n-decyl phthalate, for storage of platelets.

To compare changes in platelets stored in the new di-n-decyl phthalate (DnDP)-plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) bag with those in a di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)-plasticized PVC bag, single-donor apheresis platelet concentrates (PCs), 133 +/- 11 x 10(7) platelets per ml (n = 7), were stored with 94 +/- 3 ml of plasma in a new 1-liter bag with a surface area of 44 +/- 7.1 cm2 per 10(10) platelets. Oxygen and carbon dioxide gas diffusion properties of PVC-DnDP films were respectively, 1.6 and 2 times those of standard PVC-DEHP films. The amounts of DnDP leaked into the plasma of PCs were low at 0.58 +/- 0.06 mg per bag after 5-day storage, which is about one-eightieth the amount of DEHP leaked. The pH of PCs in PVC-DnDP bags amounted to 6.99 +/- 0.03 after 5-day storage, with glycolysis accelerated somewhat in the new bags. However, the platelet oxygen consumption was no different from that in the PVC-DEHP bags. Platelet aggregation and responses to hypotonic shock were significantly better in the new bags at the end of storage. Shape changes of platelets into spherical forms with dendrites were more frequently observed in PVC-DnDP bags than in PVC-DEHP bags. The study indicated that platelets stored in the new DnDP-plasticized PVC bags have retained aggregation and responses to hypotonic shock more than platelets in the PVC-DEHP bags, but spherical forms and anaerobic metabolism increased in the new bags.