Serum tubes
- In order to obtain serum samples from plastic tubes, the tube must have a coagulation activator added.
- As the plastic surface alone is insufficient to trigger the coagulation within an acceptable time, BD Vacutainer® plastic serum tubes have silica particles added for this purpose.
- These tubes are marked with the acronym CAT (Clot Activator Tube).
Clotting times
The recommended minimum time for the coagulation of serum tubes from patients who have not been treated with anticoagulants is 60 minutes.
Centrifuging conditions:
≤ 1300 g for 10 minutes at 18-25°C
