Evaluation of the Du Pont Axial Separation system.

We evaluated the Du Pont Axial Separation Technology (AST) system, which permanently separates a blood specimen into serum or plasma and cells in 1 min. Blood was collected in axial processing containers by standard venipuncture techniques and processed in an Axial Separation Module. Paired patient samples (n = 48 serum pairs, n = 50 plasma pairs) revealed no clinically significant differences in results for common chemistry analytes from samples collected in Becton Dickinson Vacutainer Tubes and centrifuged conventionally vs those from samples collected and processed in the AST system, except for a bias in serum (but not plasma) lactate dehydrogenase activity. This bias was dependent on the extent of stretching of the clot during processing and could be minimized by clotting the blood sample horizontally (axially). We believe the rapid separation of blood by the AST system has the potential to substantially reduce preanalytical specimen handling time.