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US 8,304,187 B2Granted
Preservation of cell-free RNA in blood samples
AssigneeStreck, Inc.
InventorM. Rohan Fernando
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for preserving and processing cell-free nucleic acids located within a blood sample is disclosed, wherein a blood sample containing cell-free nucleic acids is treated to reduce both blood cell lysis and nuclease activity within the blood sample. The treatment of the sample aids in increasing the amount of cell-free nucleic acids that can be identified and tested while maintaining the structure and integrity of the nucleic acids.
Claims9
A screening method for the identification of a disease state, comprising the steps of:
- contacting a drawn blood sample that includes a plurality of blood cells with a plasma RNA protective agent containing:
- from about 0.5% to about 2.5% by weight of aurintricarboxylic acid;
- from about 20% to about 30% by weight diazolidinyl urea;
- from about 0.05% to about 1.5% by weight sodium fluoride;
- from about 1% to about 8% by weight glyceraldehyde;
- and from about 5% to about 15% by weight EDTA for a time sufficient so that RNA synthesis is inhibited for at least two hours;
- blood cells of the drawn blood sample are fixed to prevent leaking of cellular RNA into the plasma;
- any cellular RNA that is within the blood cells at the time of the blood draw is preserved to immobilize the protein expression pattern of the blood cells so that the protein expression pattern of the cells remains the same as at the time of the blood draw;
- and cell-free RNA that is in the plasma is stabilized against degradation mediated by the combined action of nucleases and proteases;
- a. isolating the cell-free RNA from the blood sample;
- and
- b. analyzing the isolated RNA for the presence, absence, or severity of a disease state.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.