A dried serum spot assay for vitamin B12
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Sean D. O'Broin
Abstract
Background: A newly developed dried serum spot (DSS) vitamin B12 assay compares well with a conventional reference serum vitamin B12 microbiological assay (r=0.97, n=161) and demonstrates adequate within (CV% <6) and between assay (CV% <10) reproducibility.
Methods: The consistency of long-term vitamin B12 assay performance was supported and validated using a reconstituted International Reference Serum (IRR 81/563) stored at −70°C as both whole serum aliquots and as DSS. The inclusion of such reference sera also allows accurate comparisons to be made with data from other laboratories and studies.
Results: The DSS matrix displays excellent characteristics of pre-analytical serum vitamin B12 stability at ambient temperatures with less than 5% loss of activity occurring at 4°C, 20°C and 37°C after 7 days of storage in the dark.
Conclusions: These qualities underline the suitability of the DSS matrix for epidemiological screens of serum vitamin B12 levels by obviating the need for costly refrigeration and specialised handling of serum samples and allowing economic transportation using the basic postal service.
Clin Chem Lab Med 2008;46:354–8.
©2008 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
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