LabMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News Expo Clinical Chem. Molecular Diagnostics Hematology Immunology Microbiology Pathology Technology Industry Focus

Separator Tubes Assessed for Measurement of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 17 Feb 2016
Print article
Image: The Architect Immunoassay analyzer used for measuring 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3) (Photo courtesy of Abbott Diagnostics).
Image: The Architect Immunoassay analyzer used for measuring 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3) (Photo courtesy of Abbott Diagnostics).
Image: BD serum-separating advance vacutainer tubes (SST II) (Photo courtesy of Becton Dickinson).
Image: BD serum-separating advance vacutainer tubes (SST II) (Photo courtesy of Becton Dickinson).
The accuracy of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3) measurement on specimens collected into serum separator tubes (SSTs) has been questioned because of possible interference by the gel.

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) are still considered the reference methods for vitamin D measurement although commercial immunoassays have been developed to satisfy increased demand for 25OHD measurement.

A team of scientists including those from the Royal Surrey County Hospital and their colleagues in Saudi Arabia collected blood specimens were from 50 healthy volunteers (22 males, 28 females, aged 42.6 ± 11.2 and BMI 27.4 ± 5.2 kg/m2), ten of whom were taking 25OHD3 supplements. Blood specimens were simultaneously collected into plain vacutainer tubes and serum-separating advance vacutainer tubes (SST II) using a standard venesection procedure. Specimens were centrifuged within one hour of blood collection and the serum transferred into secondary tubes. Serum was stored at -80 °C until analysis six months later.

All vacutainers used were from Becton Dickinson (BD; Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) and 25OHD3 was assayed on serum using high performance liquid chromatography (Waters Corporation; Milford, MA, USA), and immunoassays from Architect (Abbott Diagnostics; Abbott Park, IL, USA) and Liaison (DiaSorin; Saluggia, Italy).

The authors found there were no significant differences between 25OHD3 results (means ± SE, nmol/l) obtained from specimens collected into plain tubes and SSTs assayed by HPLC (39.0 ± 2.7 vs. 39.3 ± 2.7), Liaison (32.9 ± 2.2 vs. 32.8 ± 2.3), or Architect (43.1 ± 2.8 vs. 43.2 ± 2.8). In specimens collected into plain tubes and SSTs, 25OHD3 measurements by HPLC correlated significantly with those from the Architect and Liaison respectively.

The authors concluded that the gel in BD’s SSTs does not interfere with the measurement of 25OHD3 by HPLC or by the commercial immunoassays tested. This important finding may enable clinical laboratories to make cost savings by using SSTs without concerns about inaccuracy. The study was published in the January 2016 issue of the Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis.

Related Links:

Royal Surrey County Hospital
Becton Dickinson 
Waters Corporation 


Gold Member
Chagas Disease Test
CHAGAS Cassette
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
H.pylori Test
Humasis H.pylori Card
New
Troponin I Test
Quidel Triage Troponin I Test

Print article

Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: The Mirvie RNA platform predicts pregnancy complications months before they occur using a simple blood test (Photo courtesy of Mirvie)

RNA-Based Blood Test Detects Preeclampsia Risk Months Before Symptoms

Preeclampsia remains a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, as well as preterm births. Despite current guidelines that aim to identify pregnant women at increased risk of preeclampsia using... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The lab-in-tube assay could improve TB diagnoses in rural or resource-limited areas (Photo courtesy of Kenny Lass/Tulane University)

Handheld Device Deliver Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: Schematic illustration of the chip (Photo courtesy of Biosensors and Bioelectronics, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2025.117401)

Pain-On-A-Chip Microfluidic Device Determines Types of Chronic Pain from Blood Samples

Chronic pain is a widespread condition that remains difficult to manage, and existing clinical methods for its treatment rely largely on self-reporting, which can be subjective and especially problematic... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Sekisui Diagnostics UK Ltd.