title: A simple method for collecting measured whole blood with quantitative recovery of antibody activities for serological surveys.
abstract: Compliance and acceptance for the finger-prick method of blood collection is generally better than for venipuncture. A finger-prick method of blood collection with quantitative antibody recovery is even more important for seroepidemiological surveys. Finger-prick blood collected and dried onto filter paper has been used; but, unfortunately, this method has several disadvantages, including loss of antibody activity, possible contact contamination from blood spots on adjacent filter papers, and difficulties in extracting antibodies, justifying the search for other methods of collecting and transporting blood samples. We report on a simple method of collecting a measured amount of finger-prick blood onto a sample pad, which is immediately transferred to storage/extraction buffer. The diluted blood sample is never dried, and because of the storage buffer, can be transported and stored without refrigeration. Furthermore, the diluted blood samples can then be tested directly without further preparation. We systematically compared several storage/extraction buffers and commercially available filter papers. We showed that antibody recovery was not significantly affected by the type of filter papers used but was significantly affected by the storage/extraction buffer used. The best such buffer is StabilZyme Select.
authors.affiliation: Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA. ahi0@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Sukwan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Handali
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.forename: Armando E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Hector H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Gilman
authors.forename: Jacquelin M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hancock
authors.forename: Victor C W
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Tsang
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D002021:Buffers; D005374:Filtration / Q000295:instrumentation; D006801:Humans; D010209:Paper; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D002021:Buffers