I believe that many people do not understand the product of serum separation gel, but many people have come into contact with it, especially when we go to the hospital for blood collection tests. The additive separation gel in the blood collection tube can effectively shorten the blood clotting time. But what exactly does it do? How is it used in the clinical testing process? Let Desheng, a manufacturer with more than ten years of R&D and production experience, answer for you.
The principle of serum separation gel
Serum separation gel can form an isolation layer between cell components and serum, effectively prevent the exchange of substances between blood cells and serum, and ensure the stability of serum components within a certain period of time.
Separation process of serum separation gel
The mechanism of separation gel in the separation of serum and plasma is that the separation gel itself is composed of hydrophobic organic compounds and silica powder. It is a thixotropic mucus. The colloidal structure contains a large number of hydrogen bonds. The existence of this substance constitutes the separation gel. The basis of thixotropy, when the separation gel and coagulated blood are centrifuged in the same test tube, the hydrogen bond network structure is destroyed due to the centrifugal force applied by the separation gel, the network structure becomes a chain structure, and the separation gel has a lower viscosity Fluid. Due to the difference in specific gravity, the separation gel changes, and the layered formation of blood clots, separation gel and serum three layers, when the centrifuge stops centrifugal movement, the chain-like particles in the separation gel will form a network structure again, and A barrier is formed between the serum and the blood clot.
Reasons for the poor effect of serum separation gel in clinical testing
Separating glue quality
The specific gravity of the separation gel is between serum and blood cells, which is the physical basis for the reversibility of the separation gel and the separation of serum. If the quality of the separation gel for blood collection tubes is poor and the specific gravity cannot meet the requirements, it will inevitably affect the effect of separating the serum, and the separation gel and the serum are likely to be intertwined.
Incomplete blood clotting
After centrifugation, sometimes the separation of the separation gel compartment and serum, blood clots is not complete, and fibrin filaments appear in the serum. The reason is often that the blood did not completely coagulate before centrifugation. Insufficient blood coagulation can mix fibrin in the barrier layer.
Centrifuge temperature
The centrifugation temperature has a significant effect on the separation of serum. In the inert separation gel accelerator tube separated by ordinary centrifuge at room temperature, the serum is clear, but oily beads of different sizes appear in 15% to 20% of the samples. However, no oily beads were found in the serum separated from the test tube centrifuged in a low-temperature centrifuge. When the temperature exceeds the storage temperature required by the separation hose, the inert separation gel will dissolve in the serum.
Centrifugal operation
Centrifugation is an important part of preparing high-quality serum samples. If the centrifugal force is too low, the force acting on the separation gel will be weak, making the separation gel poorly reversible, and fibrin gels may stay in the serum or colloidal layer. This can easily block the sample needle of the automatic analyzer. On the contrary, if the centrifugation time is too long, it is difficult to form a network structure after the hydrogen bond is cut in the separation colloidal aggregate, and the thixotropy is lost.
Serum/plasma density
The density of the serum is the main reason that affects the floating of the separation gel, not the viscosity. Any factor that causes the density of the serum (plasma) to increase and exceeds the density of the separation gel can cause abnormal reversion of the separation gel.