Carrying Out Glucose Level Tests In The Blood

Since the dawn of human body chemistry analysis, many constituents were added to the tests to help diagnose disease or to indicate good health. One of the most tested and important constituent that is still in use today is the glucose level test. Glucose is a source of energy for the body's cells and the brain, and without it, life would not exist.

The measurement of this simple compound has become so vital, that all clinical chemistry analysis instruments have it on board, testing hundreds every day per machine, making some million blood sugar tests per hour every day worldwide. Blood sugar can indicate a plethora of human body ailments, from kidney function and pancreas health, to diet changes and malnutrition.

The test is deceptively simple, as explained for a chemistry analysis instrument: Human blood is drawn into a plain phlebotomy, or blood sample, tube and allowed to clot for a short time. A centrifuge is used to pack the cells in the blood to the bottom of the tube. This allows the blood serum, the yellowish fluid left after spinning in a centrifuge, to be exposed in the tube. The blood serum of a human being holds the clues to many diseases or healthy indicators.

The serum is placed in a small cuvette, or test tube, and placed in a rack for the instrument. This is done if the chemistry analyser has an automated sampling system. The rack is placed on the conveyor, which draws the sample into the machine. A sample probe senses the fluid level of the sample and draws it into the special metal tip, which eliminated the possibility of fibrin clotting.

On board the machine can be a special rotor that houses the specialized reagents used to mix with the sample. Some reagents can be at room temperature, other need refrigeration. Glucose reagent is usually something like ABTS, a compound used to react with the glucose in the serum, which brings about a colour change with special indicators.

After mixing the serum with the reagent, the mixture is sometimes incubated on the instrument for a matter of minutes or even seconds. This is usually done in a separate container, such as a reactor well made of a clean clear plastic. After the delivery and incubation of the specimen, a spectrophotometer, which can detect tiny changes in colour, is used with a powerful light source to measure the absorbance of light after transmitting through the sample.

After measurement with special light detectors, the electrical charge resulting is sent to the onboard computer in the instrument. The calculation of the amount of glucose, in milliliters per deciliter, is displayed after logarithmic computation. The results can be used to diagnose disease, or indicate good overall health of a patient.

Glucose, after all this, is still an important chemical in the body, and without it, our brains and body would never work.