Mechanical emulsification of lipoaspirate by different Luer-Lok connector changes the viability of adipose derived stem cells in Nanofat

Nanofat grafting is a fat transfer procedure that uses a thin needle to smooth out wrinkles, thereby achieving the goal of skin rejuvenation. The Luer-Lok connector is one of the most common methods for obtaining Nanofat. In the present study, we compared three different Luer-Lok connectors (2.0 mm, 1.5 mm and 1.1 mm in diameter) in terms of their impact on the viability of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) to determine the optimal size of the connector for efficient Nanofat grafting. We observed that a smaller diameter of the Luer-Lok connector created a higher mechanical shear force, which broke more fat cells during the emulsifying procedure, thereby reducing the viability of ADSCs from the stromal vascular fraction (SVF). Nanofat obtained from the 2-mm Luer-Lok connector had a better effect on skin rejuvenation than the 1.5-mm and 1.1-mm connectors. Therefore, this study presents an advance in the simple procedure of preparing Nanofat based on a previous technique and provides evidence that a procedure associated with less trauma may be a better choice.