Synthetic polymer sulphonated polyisoprene as a universal anticoagulant for laboratory testing

To evaluate the feasibility of a synthetic polymer, sulphonated polyisoprene (SPIP), to be used as a new laboratory anticoagulant, hematological items were compared between blood samples anticoagulated with EDTA and SPIP, as were biochemical and electrolyte items between serum samples and SPIP‐anticoagulated blood. Among hematological items, the average platelet count of the SPIP group was significantly lower than that of the EDTA group, due to platelet aggregation in the SPIP group. Addition of kanamycin to SPIP, but not of aspirin or prostaglandin E1, restored platelet count to about 80% of that in the EDTA group, and increased coefficients of correlation with the EDTA group for most hematological items examined. For biochemical and electrolyte items, high (> 0.95) correlation coefficients were obtained for 15 of 18 items between the serum and SPIP‐anticoagulated samples. However, for some of these items, the addition of kanamycin decreased coefficients of correlation. Thus, SPIPs are excellent candidates for new anticoagulants that can be used for evaluation of hematological, biochemical, and electrolyte items with a single test tube in routine laboratory work. However, some improvements are required for use of kanamycin as an additive to inhibit platelet aggregation induced by SPIP, and in maintaining reliability of biochemical and electrolyte measurements. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 14:180–187, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.