Isolation of

Background: Helminth therapy holds considerable theoretical promise for clinical and public health applications. Unfortunately, clinical trials have often used helminths produced using methods that are both highly variable and insufficiently described in the literature, which may hinder reproducibility and troubleshooting. This study aimed to devise a method for purification of helminths that avoids mechanical filtration, which may damage some organisms. In particular, the goal was to devise a method to separate large quantities of cysticercoids of the cestode species Methods: The physical size and behavior of HDCs in solution were assessed and used to create a patented washing device. Results: The cross-sectional area of HDCs varied over a 10-fold range, from approximately 0.06 to 0.6 mm Conclusions: This study describes a detailed method of purification of HDCs, organisms that could potentially be used for helminth therapy. It is hoped that government agencies or non-profit organizations can use such technology to conduct rigorous clinical trials, potentially leading to the production of reasonably priced therapeutics.