Measurement of platelet activities
AssigneeBaxter Diagnostics Inc.
InventorsHendrik C. Hemker, Robert J. Wagenvoord
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods are provided for measuring the procoagulant activity of platelets in blood by means of a chromogenic assay which is specific for procoagulant phospholipids. These methods include the determination of the resting activity and/or excitability of platelets, which determines the threshold at which activating clotting factors (circulating in blood) are dangerous. Also methods are provided for screening drugs for their potential inhibitory effect on the activation of platelets.
Claims22
A method for determining the risk of thrombosis in a patient by determining the procoagulant activity of resting platelets comprising:
- (a) mixing a sample containing platelets from a patient with a substrate which can be converted by a procoagulant phospholipid dependent enzyme or enzyme complex;
- (b) contacting and reacting the mixture of step (a) with the enzyme or enzyme complex to form an activated substrate;
- (c) determing the amount of the formed activated substrate in the sample;
- and
- (d) comparing the amount of formed activated substrate from the patient with the amount of formed activated substrate from one or more control individuals.
A method for determining the risk of thrombosis in a patient by determining the excitability of platelets comprising:
- (a) incubating a sample containing platelets from a patient with thrombin or thrombin plus collagen;
- (b) mixing the resulting product of step (a) with a substrate which can be converted by a procoagulant phospholipid dependent enzyme or enzyme complex;
- (c) contacting and reacting the mixture of step (a) with the enzyme or enzyme complex to form an activated substrate;
- (d) determining the amount of the formed activated substrate in the sample;
- and
- (e) comparing the excitability of platelets from the patient with the excitability of platelets from one or more control individuals.
A method for determining if an agent will effectively inhibit platelet activation comprising:
- (a) incubating a sample containing platelets with (i) thrombin or thrombin plus collagen;
- and (ii) a said agent;
- (b) mixing the resulting product of step (a) with a substrate which can be converted by a procoagulant phospholipid dependent enzyme or enzyme complex;
- (c) contacting and reacting the mixture of step (b) with the enzyme or enzyme complex to form an activated substrate;
- (d) determining the amount of the formed activated substrate in the sample;
- and
- (e) comparing the amount of formed activated substrate from the sample containing said agent with the amount of formed activated substrate from an agent-free sample.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.