Modified Sickledex Tube Test: A Specific Test for 5 Hemoglobin
Abstract
The Sickledex test is a screening method for the detection of S hemoglobin. On the basis of analytical studies conducted, the Sickledex test is a version of the Itano solubility test which is predicted on the unique and extraordinary insolubility of deoxygenated hemoglobin S in phosphate buffer systems. It was shown that other non-S sickling hemoglobins and also unstable hemoglobins may and can give false positive Sickledex tests. The Sickledex test was modified by the reversal of a positive test in the presence of urea when the specimen is S hemoglobin. If the test specimen is a non-S sickling hemoglobin the positive test will remain positive in the presence of urea. This differential property of the clearance of turbidity (the disbursal of the neumatic liquid crystal system of sickled S hemoglobin) with urea under the conditions of this test is shown to occur only in the presence of unique, specific hydrophobic bonds between interacting tetramers, a condition which Murayama has shown to be essential to the sickling event in S hemoglobin. The modified Sickledex tube test as herein described will thus identify specifically not only S hemoglobin but also non-S sickling hemoglobins as a second category of hemoglobinopathies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 17, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0715743
Entities
People
- Bruce M. Nichols
- Frank R. Camp
- Paul L. Wolf
- Raymond L. Henry
- Robert M. Nalbandian
Organizations
- United States Army Medical Research Laboratory