This program continues work to improve aspects of clinical blood handling which have not kept pace with the modernization of analytic methods themselves; namely sampling, separation, and transfer. Moleculon is developing separation and sampling methods based on microporous poroplastic membranes which sample blood solutes while rejecting formed elements, and which subsequently deliver precise aliquots to other analytic media. Blood solutes span a wide range of size and structures; this program presents a sequence of methodical experiments to determine just how rapidly and completely these various solutes enter and leave the membranes. It relies on wet chemistry and radiotracer studies to learn as much as possible about the basic sampling characteristics of the membranes themselves through straightforward tests. General matters such as hemolysis will be investigated, followed by measurement of rates of uptake and delivery for seven representative analytes: glucose, calcium ion, creatinine, bilirubin, thyroxin, digoxin, and albumin. Analyses based on sampling with Poroplastic membranes will be compared with independent analyses at University Hospital in Boston. Companies developing automated or dry plate analytic devices will be contacted so that specifications necessary for the integration of membrane sampling into such devices can guide the program.
