Gravity Sedimentation as an Alternative to Initial Centrifugation for Large-Volume Platelet Enrichment from Porcine Blood

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is widely used in cosmetic and topical biomedical applications; however, conventional preparation methods rely heavily on centrifugation, which becomes operationally demanding when processing large blood volumes. In this study, a sedimentation-assisted strategy was investigated as an alternative to the initial centrifugation step for industrial-scale production of porcine PRP lyophilized powder. Whole blood anticoagulated with ACD-A was subjected to gravity sedimentation for 6–12 h, achieving >99.6% erythrocyte removal while maintaining a platelet recovery rate of >64%, comparable to conventional centrifugation. For large-volume batches (e.g., 100 L), this approach significantly reduced operator-intensive handling time. ACD-A outperformed other anticoagulants in preserving platelet integrity and preventing hemolysis during prolonged sedimentation. These findings demonstrate that gravity sedimentation represents a practical, scalable, and cost-effective alternative for the initial separation step in large-scale manufacturing of cosmetic-grade PRP raw material, with quality controlled by TGF-β1 concentration as the key release specification.