Blood collection tubes with different colors

Vacuum blood collection tubes are important blood test equipment and instruments. They are divided into 9 types according to different functions, and distinguished according to the color of the tube cap.

Anticoagulants are chemical agents that prevent blood from clotting. The commonly used anticoagulants for blood collection tubes are heparin sodium, lithium heparin, sodium citrate, potassium oxalate, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA).

Heparin is considered to be the best anticoagulant in the determination of blood chemical composition and have unique application value. Heparin is mainly present in the blood collection tube of the green cap. It is suitable for red blood cell fragility test, blood gas analysis, hematocrit test, hemorheology and emergency biochemical determination. Lithium heparin is least likely to cause interference when detecting non-lithium ions, and has better anticoagulant activity than heparin sodium. Currently, heparin lithium is gradually replacing heparin sodium in blood tests.

Sodium citrate is used as an anticoagulant in anticoagulation tubes with light blue caps and erythrocytes with black caps. It can form soluble chelates with calcium ions in the blood, thereby preventing blood coagulation. It is generally used for the examination of blood coagulation and blood cell deposition rate.

Potassium oxalate is an anticoagulant with high dissolution concentration and strong anticoagulant effect. The principle of action is that oxalate and calcium ions in the blood form calcium oxalate precipitation and tissue coagulation. It is often used in combination with sodium fluoride in the gray cap anticoagulation blood collection tube and is used for anticoagulation of blood samples for testing.

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is one of the most commonly used and important anticoagulants and reagents in clinical inspection work. EDTA can be combined with calcium ions in the blood to form a chelate, and cause Ca²⁺ to lose the coagulation effect, thereby preventing blood coagulation. It is suitable for multiple hematological examinations and EDTA-2K is a commonly used EDTA anticoagulant.

The EDTA purple tube cap anticoagulation blood collection tube is suitable for the detection of whole blood and plasma, and is the first choice test tube for routine blood test, glycated hemoglobin and blood type examination.

Related links: EDTA-2K