title: Evaluation of bovine serum albumin preparations and Ficoll addition in capillary tube hemagglutination.
abstract: Eighteen commercial bovine serum albumin (BSA) preparations were evaluated for their efficacy in hemagglutination enhancement by the capillary tube method. Their physicochemical variables (pH, conductivity, free fatty acids, total protein, and polymer content) were quantified. The results showed that a BSA preparation which consistently performed well in hemagglutination enhancement contained some albumin polymer and had a low free fatty acid content. We also found that the addition of Ficoll (final concentration of 1.24%) could convert BSA preparations producing mediocre hemagglutination enhancement into good enhancers, provided that these preparations did not have high free fatty acid content. Hence, the addition of Ficoll can obviate the requirement for selecting a polymer-enhanced albumin for use in capillary tube tests.
authors.affiliation: Blood Group Reference Laboratory, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Reid
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000032:analysis; D005362:Ficoll / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests / Q000379:methods*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D005362:Ficoll; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine