Evaluation of the VACUTAINER Brand PPTTM Tubes for HCV Viral Load Testing

We investigated the performance of a new collection tube for the preparation of EDTA anti-coagulated plasma for viral load testing. HCV RNA copy numbers were measured with a commercially available assay (the Amplicor HCV MonitorTM test kit). Blood specimens were collected from HCV-seropositive individuals in the VACUTAINER Brand Plasma Preparation TubeTM and a control, non-gel separator VACUTAINER Brand PLUS K2EDTA tube. We found that viral loads from plasma prepared in the PPTTM tube were equivalent to those in plasmas prepared in conventional EDTA tubes. Additionally, in contrast to the EDTA tube, the PPTTM tube provided a closed system for the collection, preparation and transport of a plasma specimen with no plasma transfer or re-labeling steps. __________________________________________________________