Get Clear-cut Photometric Results From Less Than Clear-cut Samples

Get Clear-cut Photometric Results From Less Than Clear-cut Samples

LipoClear Tubes

Veterinary laboratories are expected to get perfect diagnostic results from less than perfect blood samples. LipoClear tubes out-perform time-consuming solvent based clean-ups to give photometrically clear, lipoprotein free samples in a matter of minutes.

Diagnostic tests based on photometric analysis need optically clear samples. These tests check the health of active proteins (enzymes) by measuring the change (absorbance) in a beam of light passing through the sample. Any light-absorbing contaminant will give a false reading that might lead to an incorrect diagnosis and ineffective treatment.

Hyperlipaemia can also be a serious problem

High levels of low-density lipoproteins (chylomicrons) in the blood cause opaque or cloudy serum samples. Often due to an animal’s health or diet, this hyperlipaemia can also be a serious problem in poorly stored blood samples arriving at the laboratory long past their best. To make matters worse, these samples are often haemolysed – evidenced by the dark red-brown colour of haemoglobin breakdown.

Whatever the cause, the turbidity created by fatty-proteins and haemoglobin must be removed before photometry can be trusted. In the past, blood and serum samples were cleared using a time-consuming and potentially lethal mixture of solvents such as chloroform and phenol, together with powerful and unpleasant synthetic detergents. These chemicals were not only dangerous for laboratory staff, but risked a significant waste disposal hazard.

Pre-measured clearing reagent to treat 0.5ml of haemolysed or hyperlipaemic serum or plasma

LipoClear Tubes require no organic solvents, as the clearing process is entirely water-based.  Each of the 1.5ml plastic centrifuge tubes in the 10-test or 40-test kit contains enough pre-measured clearing reagent to treat 0.5ml of haemolysed or hyperlipaemic serum or plasma. 5 minutes at room temperature starts the process and a short spin in a standard veterinary centrifuge, equipped to take 1.5ml centrifuge tubes, completes the clean-up.

At the end of the spin, the heavier matter will have formed a solid pellet at the bottom of the tube while the less dense material forms a floating plug at the surface. Carefully tilting the tube to pour off the cleared liquid will leave the pellet fixed at the bottom, and the plug stuck to the side-wall.

Without efficient removal of interfering lipids, photometric error is almost inevitable. Introducing LipoClear treatment as the first step in the process is straightforward and cost-effective. Easily stored and ready for use, keeping a pack in the fridge gives complete confidence in test results – even from those unexpected, yet sadly inevitable, lipaemic and haemolysed samples.

For Further Information Visit Our Website www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk