LabMed

10 pages, 787 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ciraparantag Does Not Remove Anticoagulant Activities In Vitro, but DOAC-Stop™ May Mitigate Ciraparantag-Associated Interferences in Coagulation Testing

by James V. Harte and Gavin T. Buckley

LabMed 2024, 1(1), 33-42; https://doi.org/10.3390/labmed1010006 - 18 Nov 2024

Abstract

Anticoagulants can complicate the interpretation of routine and specialised coagulation assays. Several methodologies have been developed to minimise or eliminate anticoagulant-associated interferences; however, no ‘universal methodology’ that encompasses different anticoagulant classes is currently available. Ciraparantag is a promising reversal agent that can bind both direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and heparin-like anticoagulants. As such, we aimed to investigate whether ciraparantag could be employed as a ‘universal’ anticoagulant chelator in vitro. Human plasma was spiked with ascending concentrations of ciraparantag, with or without DOACs or heparin, and assayed for routine coagulation parameters. Ciraparantag had minimal effects on coagulation testing when added to human plasma at concentrations similar to pharmacokinetic maxima; however, ciraparantag did not remove DOAC- or heparin-associated activities in vitro, which was likely due to the preferential chelation of anionic substances in the coagulation reagents. In contrast, DOAC-Stop™, a commercial activated charcoal-based adsorbent, efficiently removed both DOAC- and ciraparantag-associated interferences. In conclusion, although ciraparantag is not effective as a ‘universal’ anticoagulant chelator in vitro, we report that activated charcoal-based adsorbents may be clinically useful in situations where laboratory investigations are complicated by the presence of DOACs and/or ciraparantag. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Feature Papers in Laboratory Medicine)

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11 pages, 1941 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Molecular Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Viral Particles in Exhaled Breath Condensate via Engineered Face Masks

by Hannes Dörfler, John Daniels, Shekhar Wadekar, Quentin Pagneux, Dennis Ladage, Georg Greiner, Ojan Assadian, Rabah Boukherroub and Sabine Szunerits

LabMed 2024, 1(1), 22-32; https://doi.org/10.3390/labmed1010005 - 12 Nov 2024

Abstract

In this study, we present a novel face mask engineered for the collection of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and its application and performance in a clinical study of COVID-19 infection status assessment versus the gold standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) nasopharyngeal swab testing. EBC was collected within a clinical trial of COVID-19-infected and non-infected patients and analyzed by reverse transcription quantitative (RT-q) PCR, with the results being compared with nasopharyngeal sampling of the same patient. The cycle threshold (Ct) values of the nasopharyngeal samples were generally lower than those of EBC, with viral loads in EBC ranging from 1.2 × 10⁴ to 5 × 10⁸ viral particles mL⁻¹ with 5 min of breathing. From the 60 clinical patients’ samples collected, 30 showed a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of these 30 individuals, 22 (73%) had Ct values < 40 (representing the threshold for SARS-CoV-2 infectivity) using both amplification of ORF1a/b and the E-gene. The 30 EBC samples from non-infected participants were all identified as negative, indicating a 100% specificity. These first results encourage the use of the face mask as a noninvasive sampling method for patients with lung-related diseases, especially with a view to equipping the face mask with miniaturized sensing devices, representing a true point-of-care solution in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Feature Papers in Laboratory Medicine)

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8 pages, 1932 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Two Different Integration Methods for Quantifying Monoclonal Proteins on Agarose Gel and Capillary Zone Electrophoresis Instruments

by Brittany Larkin, Laura Mahaney, Samuel Abegunde and Jennifer L. Shea

LabMed 2024, 1(1), 14-21; https://doi.org/10.3390/labmed1010004 - 24 Oct 2024

Abstract

Quantifying M-proteins is an important part of diagnosing and monitoring patients with monoclonal gammopathies. Historically, laboratories use one of two methods to accomplish this. The splice method utilizes a perpendicular drop on each side of the M-protein on the electrophoretogram. In contrast, the skim method applies a tangent skimming line connecting the points above the polyclonal background. In this study, we compared the bias between these two methods across two different instruments (Helena SPIFE 3000 and Sebia Capillarys 3) in 118 patients. First, we compared the splice technique on both instruments and observed a significant average bias of 58.3% (slope = 1.437, y-intercept = 0.76, and r = 0.9682). We next compared the splice technique on the SPIFE 3000 to the skim technique on the Capillarys 3 and observed an average bias of only −2.10% (slope = 1.363, y-intercept = −1.98, and r = 0.9716), although there was significant scatter along the line of best fit. Lastly, we compared splice vs. skim on the Capillarys 3 and observed an average bias of −38.2% (slope = 0.947, y-intercept = −2.65, and r = 0.9686). Based on these results, care should be taken when switching instruments or integration techniques to ensure consistent monitoring of patients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Feature Papers in Laboratory Medicine)

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9 pages, 1014 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimisation of Ex Vivo Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell Culture and DNA Double Strand Break Repair Kinetics

by Holly Hosking, Wayne Pederick, Paul Neilsen and Andrew Fenning

LabMed 2024, 1(1), 5-13; https://doi.org/10.3390/labmed1010003 - 28 Sep 2024

Abstract

The assessment and modelling of DNA double-strand break damage and repair is widely investigated throughout the literature. This optimisation study investigated the requirement of cell proliferation prior to treatment with chemotherapeutic agents to damage DNA and the optimal window of analysis for DNA double-strand break repair measurements with γ-H2AX. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected from healthy volunteers and incubated with phytohaemagglutinin at final concentrations of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 µg/mL for 0, 24, 48, 72 and 168 h at 37 °C, 5% CO₂, and proliferation was measured via spectrometry (MTS assay). This study, detailed in this methodology paper, found that peripheral blood mononuclear cells must be proliferated prior to the chemical induction of DNA double-strand breaks. The window for assessment of early DNA double-strand break repair was determined to be one hour after removal of the DNA damaging agent. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Feature Papers in Laboratory Medicine)

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2 pages, 148 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

LabMed: A New Open Access Journal to Share Advances in Laboratory Medicine

by Glen L. Hortin

LabMed 2024, 1(1), 3-4; https://doi.org/10.3390/labmed1010002 - 13 Sep 2024

Abstract

LabMed is a new open access electronic journal supported by one of the world’s leading electronic publishers MDPI, the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, and by an international editorial board with diverse expertise in laboratory medicine [...] Full article

2 pages, 143 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Welcome to LabMed: A New Open Access Journal in Laboratory Medicine

by Weiyong Liu

LabMed 2024, 1(1), 1-2; https://doi.org/10.3390/labmed1010001 - 6 Sep 2024

Abstract

It is my great honor and pleasure to announce the launch of LabMed (ISSN: 2813-9038) [...] Full article

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