Thrombin generation and plasma dilution.

The article by Chandler and Roshal1 marks an important step forward to the general applicability of fluorogenic thrombin-generation (FTG) assays. Notably, their remarks on how to compensate for the disturbing effect of substrate consumption (SC), inner filter effect (IFE), and variations in fluorescence quenching by plasma are useful. In the article in which we launched FTG,2 we were not aware of these complications. Consequently, they remain present in the Technoclone technique that is based on our earlier work.3 Later we developed the calibrated automated FTG technique (CAT) in which, by continuous comparison with a parallel sample with a known amount of α2-macroglobulin-thrombin, the disturbances caused by SC, IFE, and fluorescence yield variations are continuously corrected for so that the course of thrombin concentrations …