Hi Trenton Hiatt

I’ve spun down blood before the Ficoll step to collect plasma for other assays, but I only collected platelet-poor plasma (PPP), not platelet-rich plasma (PRP) which is the immediate layer onto of the RBCs. The catch is that PRP also contains PBMCs, so if you dump it, you’ll lose cells.

If your goal is just to cut platelet contamination, here are few ideas that might help:

For a step-by-step method of the entire PBMC isolation process, check the HANC PBMC SOP attached or refer to the methods section of this paper:Article The HIV-1 vpr R77Q Mutant Induces Apoptosis, G2 Cell Cycle A...

I've diluted my blood with Ca/Mg-free Phosphate buffered saline to increase the volume of my sample (At least 1 part blood + 1 part PBS). This results in a sharper band of PBMCs and reducing platelets. Generally I run a 1/3 Ficoll and 2/3 diluted blood.