IMPROVED BLOOD SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS

THIS PHASE I PROGRAM IS DIRECTED TOWARD ASPECTS OF CLINICAL BLOOD ANALYSIS WHICH HAVE MADE LITTLE PROGRESS IN RECENT YEARS: SAMPLE COLLECTION, PREPARATION, AND COLORIMETRY. MOLECULON WILL SEEK TO INCORPORATE AUTOMATIC MEMBRANE FILTRATION DIRECTLY INTO DISPOSABLE BLOOD SAMPLERS TO OBTAIN CELL-FREE EXTRACTS WITHOUT CENTRIFUGATION, AND WILL INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF FURTHER LABOR SAVINGS BASED ON COLORIMETRIC PLASMA ANALYSES CONDUCTED DIRECTLY WITHIN TRANSPARENT MEMBRANES. BOTH THE FILTRATION AND THE THIN FILM COLORIMETRY WILL RELY ON THE UNIQUE PROPERTIES OF POROPLASTIC FILM, A TRANSPARENT PERMSELECTIVE MEMBRANE IN WHICH MANY NORMAL LIQUID-PHASE REACTIONS CAN READILY BE CONDUCTED. TO THE EXTENT THAT PLASMA OBTAINED USING MEMBRANES LACKS THE HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT PROTEINS FOUND IN CENTRIFUGED PLASMA, IT SHOULD BE PARTICULARLY SUITABLE FOR ENZYMATIC ANALYSIS OF IMPORTANT LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT SOLUTES. THE THIN FILM COLORIMETRY TO BE INVESTIGATED WILL NOT RELY ON SEMIQUANTATIVE REFLECTANCE MEASUREMENTS, SUCH AS THOSE USED IN PRESENT HOME GLUCOSE INDICATORS, BUT ON ENZYMATIC SCHEMES IN COMBINATION WITH TRANSMISSION SPECTROMETERS. THE UNDERLYING GOAL OF THE ENTIRE PROGRAM WILL BE TO PROVIDE ACCEPTABLE CLINICAL BLOOD ANALYSES WITH A MUCH REDUCED INVESTMENT OF CLINICAL LABOR. ELIMINATING SAMPLE-HANDLING STEPS SUCH AS THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH CENTRIFUGATION WILL ALSO REMOVE A MAJOR SOURCE OF DANGEROUS LABORATORY ERROR - MISIDENTIFICATION OF SAMPLES DURING POURING OPERATIONS. ANOTHER ASSOCIATED BENEFIT, REDUCTION IN ANALYTIC TURN-AROUND TIMES, COULD ITSELF BE LIFE-SAVING IN CASES SUCH AS SEVERE ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCE OR DIABETIC COMA.