A cell washing system automates the process of removing unwanted media, reagents, or plasma from a cell suspension while concentrating the cells themselves, typically using centrifugation, counterflow filtration, or a combination of both inside a closed, sterile fluid path. Cell and gene therapy manufacturing teams, blood bank and apheresis specialists, and bioprocess engineers across pharmaceutical, biotech, and clinical organisations rely on these systems to move cells safely from collection through to a finished, infusible or storable product. Browse new and used cell washing systems from verified sellers on Machinery Masters.

What Is a Cell Washing System?

A cell washing system takes a cell suspension that still contains waste products, such as spent culture media, cryoprotectant, plasma, or lysed cell debris, and exchanges that fluid for a clean wash buffer while concentrating the cells to a target volume. Manually, a technician achieves the same result by repeatedly spinning a sample in a centrifuge, discarding the supernatant, and resuspending the pellet, but doing this by hand is slow, inconsistent between operators, and hard to keep sterile at scale. A dedicated cell washing system automates that same wash-and-concentrate cycle inside a functionally closed, single-use fluid path, which protects sterility and gives a reproducible result regardless of who runs it.

Two separation principles dominate this category. Centrifugation-based systems spin the cell suspension inside a chamber or bag, much like a dedicated automated centrifuge, while counterflow, or spinning membrane, systems pass fluid continuously past a rotating membrane that retains cells while letting waste fluid pass through. The right choice depends heavily on cell type, fragility, and how the washing step fits into the rest of a manufacturing or blood processing workflow.

Cell Washing Systems Brands

Fresenius Kabi, maker of the LOVO automated cell processing and washing system
Cytiva, maker of the Sepax C-Pro cell processing system
Thermo Fisher Scientific, maker of the CTS Rotea counterflow centrifugation cell processing system
Terumo BCT, maker of the Elutra cell separation system
Miltenyi Biotec, maker of the CliniMACS Prodigy automated cell processing platform
Sartorius, which supplies counterflow centrifugation cell processing equipment
Lonza, maker of the Cocoon platform for closed, automated cell therapy manufacturing
Biosafe, the original developer of the Sepax platform, whose branding still appears on older units
GE Healthcare, whose legacy Sepax and Sefia-branded systems still appear on the used equipment market
Haemonetics, maker of the Cell Saver range used for intraoperative blood cell salvage and washing

Please verify this brand list against current Machinery Masters marketplace inventory before publishing, as available stock changes over time.

Cell Washing Systems Product Types

Cell washing systems divide into a handful of formats depending on the separation principle used and how tightly the process needs to stay closed for sterility and regulatory reasons.

Centrifugation-Based Cell Washing Systems

Centrifugation-based systems spin a cell suspension inside a dedicated chamber or bag, automating the same wash-and-concentrate cycle a technician would otherwise perform manually with a standard centrifuge. This format suits a wide range of cell types and remains one of the most widely used approaches in blood processing and cell therapy manufacturing.

Counterflow Cell Processing Systems

Counterflow, or spinning membrane, systems pass the cell suspension continuously past a rotating membrane that retains the cells while waste fluid passes through, rather than separating everything in discrete spin cycles. This approach can be gentler on fragile cell types and often processes larger volumes more efficiently than a purely centrifugation-based cycle.

Closed-System Cell Therapy Manufacturing Platforms

Some platforms combine cell washing with additional manufacturing steps, such as cell selection, activation, and expansion, inside a single closed instrument. These integrated systems reduce the number of manual transfers between machines during cell and gene therapy production, which lowers contamination risk and shortens overall processing time.

Blood and Apheresis Cell Processing Systems

Blood processing centres and hospitals use dedicated cell processing systems to wash and concentrate blood components collected through apheresis or recovered during surgery, preparing them for transfusion or further processing.

Benchtop and Manual Cell Washing Setups

Smaller research labs and lower-throughput applications often still rely on a standard centrifuge and manual wash-and-resuspend steps rather than a dedicated automated system, which remains a valid approach where regulatory and reproducibility demands are lower than in clinical manufacturing.

Cell Washing Systems Applications and Uses

Cell washing systems support a range of applications across cell therapy manufacturing, blood processing, and general bioprocessing, with the right format depending on scale, cell type, and regulatory requirements.

Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturing

CAR-T and other cell therapy manufacturing processes use cell washing systems to remove reagents and exchange media at multiple points in the workflow, including after cell selection, following viral transduction, and before final formulation of the finished product.

Blood Component Processing and Apheresis

Blood banks and apheresis centres use cell washing systems to process collected blood components, removing plasma or other unwanted material while preparing cells for storage, transfusion, or further manufacturing.

Bioprocessing Buffer Exchange and Concentration

Bioprocess teams use cell washing systems to exchange buffers and concentrate cell suspensions at various points in upstream and downstream processing, reducing the manual handling steps that introduce variability between batches.

Research-Scale Cell Preparation

Research laboratories use cell washing principles, whether through a dedicated system or manual centrifugation, to prepare cell suspensions for downstream assays, culture work, and experimental procedures.

Intraoperative Blood Cell Salvage

Surgical teams use dedicated cell washing systems to recover, wash, and concentrate a patient's own red blood cells lost during surgery, allowing that blood to be safely returned to the patient rather than relying solely on donor blood.

How to Choose a Cell Washing System

A handful of practical factors determine which cell washing system suits an organisation's workflow.

Match the system to your closed-processing requirements. GMP cell and gene therapy manufacturing generally needs a functionally closed, single-use system, while research-scale work may not.
Confirm the processing volume range fits your starting material and target output, since systems vary considerably in minimum and maximum working volumes.
Check whether a centrifugation-based or counterflow separation principle suits your cell type, particularly for fragile or shear-sensitive cells.
Consider whether you need a standalone washing step or an integrated platform that also handles cell selection, activation, or expansion.
For used equipment, verify which disposable kits and consumables the system takes, confirm the current software or firmware version, and request the full service history before buying.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a cell washing system used for?

A cell washing system removes unwanted media, reagents, or plasma from a cell suspension while concentrating the cells, and organisations use it throughout cell and gene therapy manufacturing, blood component processing, and general bioprocessing wherever cells need to move cleanly from one processing step to the next.

What is the difference between a closed and an open cell washing system?

A closed cell washing system keeps the cell suspension inside a sealed, single-use fluid path throughout processing, which protects sterility and is generally required for GMP cell therapy manufacturing, while an open system, such as manual centrifugation with an open tube, exposes the sample to the environment at some point during handling. Closed systems reduce contamination risk considerably, which is why regulated cell therapy production almost always specifies one.

What is the difference between centrifugation-based and counterflow cell processing systems?

Centrifugation-based systems separate cells in discrete spin cycles inside a chamber or bag, while counterflow systems pass fluid continuously past a rotating membrane that retains the cells as waste fluid flows through. Counterflow systems can be gentler on fragile cells and handle larger volumes more efficiently, while centrifugation-based systems remain simpler and widely proven across many cell types.

What is the difference between new and used cell washing systems?

New cell washing systems come with a manufacturer warranty and current software, while used systems offer meaningful cost savings and suit organisations that can confirm consumable kit compatibility, service history, and current software or firmware version. It is worth running a validation cycle on any used system before relying on it for regulated manufacturing work.

How can I find cell-washing systems on Machinery Masters?

Browse the Machinery Masters marketplace for new and used cell washing systems from verified sellers, and use the filters to narrow results by brand, separation principle, and configuration. Contact a seller directly to confirm specifications, service history, and pricing before you buy.