This element contains the following parts:
- the vial itself. It is used for collection, transportation and storage of test material;
- lid. Its function is not limited to protecting the contents from the ingress of air and other factors. With the help of covers, products were marked, due to which a specialist can determine their purpose and specifics of use (more on this later). Typically, the lid consists of a rubber stopper, which ensures tight closure, and a housing made of special plastic. It can also have a colored ring on it, by which you can clarify the features of the filler;
- label. It contains all the information necessary for conducting research.
As for the materials from which vacuum blood sampling tubes are made, it can be glass or plastic. But not any plastic is suitable for this. As a rule, this is polyethylene terphthalate - a material characterized by high strength, as well as minimal porosity, in comparison with analogues, which eliminates the occurrence of gas exchange through the walls of the product.
Cap colors for vacuum blood collection tubes and their meaning.
As for the colors of the caps that are supplied with vacuum blood collection tubes, their selection is carried out in accordance with the composition of the reagents in them, as well as the type of study for which these elements are intended.
The following colors are used for labeling caps:
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red. With its help, a vacuum tube with a blood coagulation activator is marked. With their help, serum is obtained, which is a substance freed from coagulation factors. Thanks to the activator, the clotting time of blood taken for analysis is significantly reduced and takes about 10-30 minutes. This composition itself does not have any effect on the results of the study, because. it is resistant to the effects of enzymes that are contained in the blood; - green. The tubes used in the plasma analysis process are marked with this color. In this case, a dry anticoagulant is applied to the inner surface. Thanks to it, plasma coagulation is prevented. Lithium-heparin and sodium-heparin can be used as an anticoagulant in such products;
- yellow. With its help, test tubes with a clotting activator are indicated, as well as with a separation gel, which is placed at the bottom. Thanks to him, during centrifugation, a reliable barrier is formed that separates the serum for research and fibrins from cells. When using such products, it is possible to obtain a significantly larger volume of serum than with conventional test tubes, which is ensured due to its clearer separation from the rest of the substance;
- grey. Used for labeling tubes intended for diabetology. Thanks to the use of an anticoagulant (DETA or oxalates) as well as a glucose stabilizer, the blood sample is preserved for a long time. However, its original state is not changed. These products are suitable for taking blood for the purpose of conducting research on the content of glucose in it;
- violet. These are vacuum tubes for hematological studies with EDTA-K2 or EDTE-K3 (ethylenediaminetetraacetate). Due to the presence of EDTA, the blood coagulation cascade is blocked, as well as the binding of calcium ions. This is done in order to maintain the concentration of cellular and extracellular components in the blood taken for analysis. These products are suitable for blood cell analyzers;
- blue. This is how a vacuum tube with sodium citrate is marked. It is used in the course of analysis of coagulation mechanisms. The sodium citrate solution contained in such a product, depending on the practice adopted in a particular laboratory, may be 3.2 or 3.8 percent;
- black. These tubes also contain sodium citrate buffer (3.8%). They are used in the course of conducting studies to determine the erythrocyte sedimentation rate;
- pink. They are used in the course of determining the patient's blood type, as well as for conducting a cross-test when organizing a transfusion. They can be produced both without filler and with the content of a coagulation activator, or K2EDTA (ethylenediaminoacetic acid).
