Method of using polypropylene glycol to improve movement and int

Details Method of using polypropylene glycol to improve movement and int Method of using polypropylene glycol to improve movement and int

1986-04-30

1988-08-23

Rosen, Sam

Chemistry: analytical and immunological testing

Biological cellular material tested

424101, 435 2, 436 68, 436 70, 137 13, G01N 3348

Patent

active

047660791

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The subject invention relates to a method which improves the movement of blood and other fluids and their intermixture in tubes where the surface tension is strong, and this without damage being done to the blood corpuscles. The invention also allows the use of thinner-bore tubes or less energy-consuming pumps in continuous-flow systems without change of the character of the fluids passing through systems of this kind.
In the health service, particularly in laboratories, capillary tubes are often used for collection of blood. To prevent the blood from coagulating it is customary to add double-acting solutions, i.e. anti-coagulants and thinning agents.
The strong surface tension that exists in capillary tubes causes problems in achieving inter-mixture of blood and solutions added thereto. For this reason techniques such as magnetic stirring, manual and mechanic vibrating and shaking methods are used to obtain satisfactory degrees of intermixture. However, these methods often lead to bursting of the blood corpuscles, resulting in undesirable haemolysis, which has a detrimental effect on the subsequent analysis of the blood.
Surface tension in capillary tubes may be reduced by means of various kinds of surfactants. However, surfactants too, have an haemolytical effect on blood corpuscles and interfer with other analysis reactants and therefore are used very sparingly.
Capillary tubes are also used within the health service to carry and transport blood and other fluids in so called continuous flows. In order to separate blood samples from one patient from blood samples from other patients or from other fluids which are flowing simultaneously in the same tube these fluids are separated with the aid of gas bubbles (FIG. 1).
Gas bubbles and solutions channelled through tubes of this kind are affected by the strong surface tension therein. The larger the amount of bubbles in the tubes and the longer the tube the larger the total surface tension that must be overcome. For this purpose large and energy-consuming pumps are used, e.g. peristaltically operating pumps, or else larger-bore tubes are chosen for the purpose of reducing the effects of the surface tension.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the subject invention is: capillary tubes to allow easy intermixture of blood and other fluids without detrimental effects on the blood corpuscles; continuous-flow systems so that
This is achieved in accordance with the teachings of the invention by adding polypropylene glycol H [OCH(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2 ].sub.n OH to reduce the electrostatic forces, e.g. surface tension, in liquids or solutions in liquid phase, such as blood and blood solutions.
Polypropylene glycol may be added when blood is mixed with a solution designed to facilitate dispersion of the blood in said soluton.
Polypropylenelglycol may also be added to said liquid or said solution to reduce the surface tension thereof when the liquid or the solution is conducted through capillary tubes.
In the performance of analyses involving sedimentation of a liquid, polypropylene glycol may be added to reduce the repellant forces existing between the particles forming the sediment. A particular application is to us polypropylene glycol to facilitate the rouleaux formation of clustered red cells.


BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to illustrate the invention the method described above will be explained in closer detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings,
FIG. 1 shows a continuous-flow system wherein one or several fluids (1b, 1d, 1e) are separated from each other by means of gas bubbles (1c) in a capillary tube. When a tube of this kind is treated with polypropylene glycol (1f) the latter will deposit on the inner face of the capillary tube (1a), thus reducing the surface tension without reaction with the fluid contained in the tube.
FIG. 2 shows a capillary tube (2b) which is treated on its inside face with polypropylene glycol (2a) in accordance with the teachings of the invention.
FIG. 3 illustra

REFERENCES:
patent: 3736288 (1973-05-01), Stratta et al.
Giles et al-Chem. Abst., vol. 76 (1972), p. 142005y.
Vander Meulen-Chem. Abst., vol. 83 (1975), p. 12862j.
McClaflin et al-Chem. Abst., vol. 83 (1975), p. 118,399d.

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