What is serum gel blood test for?

Product Description

They contain a special gel that separates blood cells from serum, as well as particles to cause blood to clot quickly. The blood sample can then be centrifuged, allowing the clear serum to be removed for testing.

It is yellow blood bottle (a.k.a. gold). These bottles are used for a huge variety of tests requiring separated serum for analysis, including biochemistry, endocrinology, oncology, toxicology, microbiology and immunology. This tube is known in the lab as the SST (serum separating tube). It contains two agents; silica particles and a serum separating gel. The silica particles work to activate clotting and cause the blood cells to clump together. The serum separator consists of an inert polymer gel which floats as a layer between the blood cells and plasma to form a physical barrier between them. This means that the sample can be centrifuged (spun) in the lab and the separated serum easily removed.

Tests

Biochemistry tests
Biochemistry tests are the ones you will encounter most commonly:
Urea and electrolytes (U&Es),C-reactive protein (CRP),Amylase assay,Bone profile,Magnesium assay,Iron studies,Lipid profile,Thyroid function tests (TFTs),Vitamins,Troponins,Creatine kinase (CK),Urate,Serum osmolality.
 
Endocrinology tests:
Endocrinology tests that can be performed using a yellow blood bottle include:
Beta-hCG;Calcitonin*;Cortisol;EPO;Sex hormones;Growth hormone;IGF*1

 Tumour marker tests
Tumour marker tests that can be performed using a yellow blood bottle include:
PSA;CEA;CA***5;CA***9;AFP;Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)

 Toxicology tests
Toxicology tests that can be performed using a yellow blood bottle include:
Ethanol;Cannabis;Opiates;Other drugs (e.g. cocaine)
 Drug level tests
Drug level tests that can be performed using a yellow blood bottle include:
Paracetamol;Salicylates (aspirin);Lithium;Gentamicin

Microbiology/virology tests
The yellow blood bottle can be used to test for a wide variety of bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections including HIV and viral hepatitis.

 Immunology tests
Immunology tests that can be performed using a yellow blood bottle include:

Tips for use

The yellow bottle needs to be inverted about 5 times to mix the sample with the silica and separator. Dont panic if the blood starts to clot or separate in the bottle, its supposed to! The amount of blood required will depend on how many tests youre doing, but at least 1ml is ideal. You can usually get about *2 tests from one full yellow bottle. Remember that different labs may be located in different areas and technicians dont like sharing this means youll need to put your biochemistry and microbiology samples in separate yellow bottles to go to their respective laboratories.