Isolation of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Using Vacutainer Cellular Preparation Tubes (CPT).

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) isolation is commonly done via density gradient centrifugation over Ficoll-Hypaque, a labor-intensive procedure that requires skilled technicians and can contribute to sample variability. Cellular Preparation Tubes (CPTs) are Vacutainer blood draw tubes that contain Ficoll-Hypaque and a gel plug that separates the Ficoll solution from the blood to be drawn. Once blood is drawn into CPTs, they can be centrifuged to separate the PBMC, then shipped (if desired) to a processing lab. The processing lab removes the PBMC from the upper compartment of the tube (above the gel plug), washes the PBMC, and can cryopreserve them using DMSO-containing media, as detailed in this protocol.