Open AccessA New Blood Collection Device Minimizes Cellular DNA Release During Sample Storage and Shipping When Compared to a Standard Device
Author(s) -
Norton Sheila E.,
Luna Kristin K.,
Lechner Joel M.,
Qin Jianbing,
Fernando M. Rohan
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of clinical laboratory analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1098-2825
pISSN - 0887-8013
DOI - 10.1002/jcla.21603
Subject(s) - centrifugation , genomic dna , dna , chemistry , blood collection , polymerase chain reaction , real time polymerase chain reaction , whole blood , chromatography , blood preservation , microbiology and biotechnology , andrology , biology , biochemistry , gene , medicine , immunology , emergency medicine
Background Cell‐free DNA (cf DNA ) circulating in blood is currently used for noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic tests. Minimizing background DNA is vital for detection of low abundance cf DNA . We investigated whether a new blood collection device could reduce background levels of genomic DNA (g DNA ) in plasma compared to K 3 EDTA tubes, when subjected to conditions that may occur during sample storage and shipping. Methods Blood samples were drawn from healthy donors into K 3 EDTA and Cell‐Free DNA™ BCT (BCT). To simulate shipping, samples were shaken or left unshaken. In a shipping study, samples were shipped or not shipped. To assess temperature variations, samples were incubated at 6°C, 22°C, and 37°C. In all cases, plasma was harvested by centrifugation and total plasma DNA (p DNA ) assayed by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Results Shaking and shipping blood in K 3 EDTA tubes showed significant increases in p DNA , whereas no change was seen in BCT s. Blood in K 3 EDTA tubes incubated at 6°C, 22°C, and 37°C showed increases in p DNA while p DNA from BCT s remained stable. Conclusions BCT s prevent increases in g DNA levels that can occur during sample storage and shipping. This new device permits low abundance DNA target detection and allows accurate cf DNA concentrations.