What is EDTA Tube in Purple/Lavender Top？

Editor: Zoey  

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, or EDTA, is a commonly used component of blood collection. EDTA mainly uses a purple top(lavender top). EDTA is mostly used to remove metal ions from solutions and alter the characteristics of ions because of its strong capacity to interact with metal ions. It is an effective chelating agent as a result. Chelating is the process of combining metal ions with a chelating agent.

What is the function of EDTA (Lavender top or Purple top)?

Blood analysis usually makes use of EDTA. For CBC/FBC blood samples, it acts as an anticoagulant by chelating the calcium present and stopping the coagulation process while preserving the form of the blood cells. This makes it possible to perform complete blood counts (CBCs) on whole blood without altering the outcomes.

In tests for urine analysis, EDTA is often used to preserve urine samples. It is feasible to identify drugs of abuse, hazardous chemicals, and other tiny molecules in urine samples due to the presence of EDTA, which stops some urine molecules from degrading.

In research using electron microscopy on tissues containing heavy metals like arsenic or mercury, EDTA is utilized as a metal-chelating agent. Before using heavy metal compounds to stain the tissue sections in this instance, any metal impurities are removed with EDTA treatment.

As a result of its capacity to stop blood clotting and enable precise examinations of blood cells and other fluids, EDTA is utilized in a wide range of laboratory tests.

What is the difference between K2 EDTA and K3 EDTA (Both use Lavender top or Purple top)?

The fundamental distinction between K2 EDTA and K3 EDTA is the presence of two chelated potassium ions in K2 EDTA as opposed to three in K3 EDTA. Furthermore, K3 EDTA has no effect on the MCV of red blood cells at greater concentrations, whereas K2 EDTA marginally increases the MCV (mean corpuscular volume) of red blood cells at higher concentrations.

K2 EDTA (dipotassium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) is a potent anticoagulant used to keep blood in lavender top or purple top tube edta for complete blood counts (CBC). In most cases, whole blood is kept in these tubes. But K2 EDTA has two potassium ions bonded to the molecule of EDTA.

Additionally, EDTA is a chelating agent that can sequester metal ions in a mixture, such as calcium ions and ferric ions, reducing their reactivity. K2 EDTA's primary role in the blood sample is therefore to chelate calcium ions from the combination. Furthermore, calcium ions are needed for the process of blood coagulation. However, the presence of EDTA in the material prevents the calcium ions from being used in this process, preventing coagulation.

K3 ETDA is an alternate type of K2 EDTA used during blood collection for standard hematological assays. K3 EDTA, as opposed to K2 EDTA, has three potassium ions bonded to EDTA. However, for two reasons, the International Council for Standardization in Haematology advises using K2 EDTA as the anticoagulant:

·The shrinkage of red blood cells rises with increasing EDTA concentration in K3 EDTA (11% shrinkage with 7.5 mg/ml blood).

·K3 EDTA significantly increases cell volume upon standing.

How long does blood last in the lavender top (purple top) tube?

Blood can be kept in the lavender top tube at 4°C for 12, 24, or 36 hours before processing, or it can be frozen at -80°C in the lavender top tube for 20 days before being thawed under carefully monitored circumstances. The stability of the samples can differ based on the variety of assays used.

Reference:

[1]https://www.skgmed.com/What-is-the-Difference-Between-K2-EDTA-and-K3-EDTA-id47713377.html

[2]https://short-facts.com/what-does-edta-mean-in-a-blood-test/

[3] https://www.thehealthboard.com/what-is-an-edta-anticoagulant.htm

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