Lithium salts as red blood cell lysing and hemoglobin denaturing reagents.

摘要

Use of a lithium salt, particularly lithium thiocyanate, as an agent for lysing red blood cells and denaturing hemoglobin in the performance of an immunoassay to detect the relative amount of a hemoglobin derivative in a blood sample. The method is particularly useful in the determination of hemoglobin A1c. The method provides a rapid means for releasing hemoglobin from red blood cells by lysis and for exposing the epitope that is characteristic of the A1c form. Low concentrations of the lithium salt provide rapid release and denaturation of hemoglobin without the need for dilution prior to the performance of the immunoassay.