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In general, serum samples (red top tubes) are preferred for chemistry testing. This is because our chemistry reference intervals are based on serum not plasma. ... For example, LDH, potassium and phosphate are higher in serum than plasma, because of release of these constituents from cells during clotting.

Plasma is obtained by centrifugation of uncoagualted blood. It contains blood cells, clotting factors, glucose, electrolytes (such as sodium, magnesium, calcium, chloride), hormones, and proteins (such as albumins, fibrinogen, and globulins). Clinical tests usually require a 24-hour urine collection.

Plasma is produced when whole blood is collected in tubes that are treated with an anticoagulant. The blood does not clot in the plasma tube. The cells are removed by centrifugation. The supernatant, designated plasma is carefully removed from the cell pellet using a Pasteur pipette.

Specimens can be processed more quickly, shortening the turnaround time for test results. There is a potentially higher sample volume yield with plasma, with approximately 15-20% more plasma obtainable from whole blood than with serum.

The function of clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine is to perform qualitative and quantitative analyses on body fluids such as blood, urine, spinal fluid, faeces, tissue and other materials.

A key difference between plasma and serum is that plasma is liquid, and serum is fluid. While most of the components are the same for both plasma and serum, plasma contains fibrinogen which is absent in serum. ... Plasma, on the other hand, is mostly used for blood-clotting related problems.

A test done on a sample of blood to measure the amount of certain substances in the body. These substances include electrolytes (such as sodium, potassium, and chloride), fats, proteins, glucose (sugar), and enzymes.

Special Chemistry The testing utilizes a variety of methodologies and instruments and includes hormone assays, serum tumor markers, anemia assays, hepatitis tests, infectious disease and HIV antibody tests, hemoglobin A1c, serum free light chains, QuantiFERON, and sweat chloride testing.

Clinical chemistry uses chemical processes to measure levels of chemical components in body fluids and tissues. The most common specimens used in clinical chemistry are blood and urine. Many different tests exist to detect and measure almost any type of chemical component in blood or urine.

The clinical microscopy (fluids) laboratory evaluates almost every body fluid that is obtained in the hospital. Because the fluids laboratory functions at all hours, it is often the first laboratory to receive a body fluid.