Assay interferences from blood collection tubes: a cautionary note.

Recent publications (1)(2) have reported an association between the surfactant present in BD Vacutainer® blood collection tubes and interference in select immunoassays on certain instrument platforms. Blood collection tubes contain not only surfactants but multiple additives that contribute to the optimal recovery of serum or plasma for laboratory analysis. For plastic tubes, which are largely replacing glass tubes because of safety considerations, several suppliers have added silica particles to promote blood clotting (3)(4)(5) and polyvinylpyrrolidone to aid the adherence of silica particles to the tube walls and to facilitate rapid dissolution of the silica in the blood specimen. Moreover, silicone-based surfactants or polypropylene oxide are present as coatings for the interior tube wall (6)(7) to act …