BD Vacutainer® tubes for glucose and lactate determination

Description

BD Vacutainer® tubes for blood glucose determination are available with two different additives that have a stabilising effect on glucose and lactate in the blood by inhibiting certain enzymes of glycolysis: Fluoride and iodoacetate. Both additives are combined with an anticoagulant.

The use of fluoride together with Na2 EDTA is advantageous compared to oxalate as an anticoagulant. The combination of fluoride and oxalate is not well tolerated by the cells and can lead to haemolysis, especially after hours of storage.

HbA1c

Another advantage of the combination of fluoride and Na 2 EDTA is that the marker HbA1c can be determined from the same tube and no additional tube has to be taken.

Homocysteine

Studies have shown that fluoride at a concentration of at least 4 mg/mL in whole blood can be used to stabilise homocysteine. Our BD Vacutainer® Fluoride/Heparin tubes with 5 mL vacuum contain 20 mg NaFl, so the final concentration of fluoride is optimal for stabilising homocysteine. During the first three hours after blood collection, the homocysteine level will fluctuate, but thereafter it will be stable for up to 144 hours.

Centrifugation conditions

≤ 1300 x g for 10 minutes at 18-25°C.