All Topics  
Buffy coat

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Buffy coat
 
 
  Topics Buffy coat Topic Home

The buffy coat is the fraction
Blood fractionation

Blood fractionation is the process of fractionation whole blood, or separating it into its component parts. This is typically done by centrifuge the blood....
 of an anticoagulated
Anticoagulant

An anticoagulant is a substance that prevents blood coagulation; that is, it stops blood from clotting. A group of pharmaceuticals called anticoagulants can be used in vivo as a medication for thrombosis disorders....
 blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
 sample after density gradient centrifugation
Centrifugation

Centrifugation is a process that involves the use of the centrifugal force for the separation processs, used in industry and in laboratory settings....
 that contains most of the white blood cell
White blood cell

White blood cells , or leukocytes , are cell of the immune system defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials....
s and platelet
Platelet

Platelets, or Thrombocyte, are small, irregularly shaped anuclear cells, 2-4?m in diameter, which are derived from fragmentation of precursor megakaryocytes....
s.
r centrifugation, one can distinguish a layer of clear fluid (the plasma
Blood plasma

Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. It makes up about 55% of total blood volume. It is composed of mostly water , and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, clotting factors, mineral ions, Hormone and carbon dioxide ....
), a layer of red fluid containing most of the red blood cell
Red blood cell

Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate body's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood....
s, and a thin layer in between, making up less than 1% of the total volume of the blood sample, the buffy coat (so-called because it is usually buff
Buff (colour)

Buff is a pale yellow-brown colour that got its name from the colour of buff leather.Biology* Buff is widespread in the animal kingdom ....
 in hue), with most of the white blood cells and platelet
Platelet

Platelets, or Thrombocyte, are small, irregularly shaped anuclear cells, 2-4?m in diameter, which are derived from fragmentation of precursor megakaryocytes....
s.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Buffy coat'
Start a new discussion about 'Buffy coat'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The buffy coat is the fraction
Blood fractionation

Blood fractionation is the process of fractionation whole blood, or separating it into its component parts. This is typically done by centrifuge the blood....
 of an anticoagulated
Anticoagulant

An anticoagulant is a substance that prevents blood coagulation; that is, it stops blood from clotting. A group of pharmaceuticals called anticoagulants can be used in vivo as a medication for thrombosis disorders....
 blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
 sample after density gradient centrifugation
Centrifugation

Centrifugation is a process that involves the use of the centrifugal force for the separation processs, used in industry and in laboratory settings....
 that contains most of the white blood cell
White blood cell

White blood cells , or leukocytes , are cell of the immune system defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials....
s and platelet
Platelet

Platelets, or Thrombocyte, are small, irregularly shaped anuclear cells, 2-4?m in diameter, which are derived from fragmentation of precursor megakaryocytes....
s.

Description

After centrifugation, one can distinguish a layer of clear fluid (the plasma
Blood plasma

Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. It makes up about 55% of total blood volume. It is composed of mostly water , and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, clotting factors, mineral ions, Hormone and carbon dioxide ....
), a layer of red fluid containing most of the red blood cell
Red blood cell

Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate body's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood....
s, and a thin layer in between, making up less than 1% of the total volume of the blood sample, the buffy coat (so-called because it is usually buff
Buff (colour)

Buff is a pale yellow-brown colour that got its name from the colour of buff leather.Biology* Buff is widespread in the animal kingdom ....
 in hue), with most of the white blood cells and platelet
Platelet

Platelets, or Thrombocyte, are small, irregularly shaped anuclear cells, 2-4?m in diameter, which are derived from fragmentation of precursor megakaryocytes....
s. The buffy coat is used, for example, to extract DNA
DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetics instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses....
 from the blood of mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s (since mammalian red blood cells are anucleate
Cell nucleus

In cell biology, the nucleus , also sometimes referred to as the "control center", is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in all eukaryote cell ....
 and do not contain DNA).

The buffy coat is usually whitish in color but sometimes green, if the blood sample contains large amounts of neutrophils
Neutrophil granulocyte

Neutrophil granulocytes, generally referred to as neutrophils, are the most abundant type of white blood cells in humans and form an essential part of the immune system....
, which are high in green myeloperoxidase
Myeloperoxidase

Myeloperoxidase is a peroxidase enzyme most abundantly present in neutrophil granulocytes . It is a lysosome protein stored in azurophilic granules of the neutrophil....
.

Diagnostic Uses of the Buffy Coat

  • Quantitative Buffy Coat (QBC) is a laboratory
    Medical laboratory

    A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are done on clinical specimens in order to get information about the health of a patient....
     test to detect infection with malaria
    Malaria

    Malaria is a Vector -borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. It is widespread in Tropics and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa....
     or other blood parasites: the blood is taken in a QBC capillary tube which is coated with acridine orange
    Acridine orange

    Acridine orange is a nucleic acid selective fluorescent cationic dye useful for cell cycle determination. It is cell-permeable, and interacts with DNA and RNA by Intercalation or electrostatic attractions respectively....
     (a fluorescent dye) and centrifuged; the fluorescing
    Fluorescence

    Fluorescence is a luminescence that is mostly found as an optical phenomenon in cold bodies, in which the molecular absorption of a photon triggers the emission of a photon with a longer wavelength....
     parasites can then be observed under ultraviolet
    Ultraviolet

    Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than x-rays, in the range 400 nanometer to 10 nm, and energies from 3 Electron volt to 124 eV....
     light at the interface between red blood cells and buffy coat. This test is more sensitive than the conventional thick smear and in >90% of cases, the species of parasite can also be identified.
  • In cases of extremely low white blood cell count, it may be difficult to perform a manual differential of the various types of white cells, and it may be virtually impossible to obtain an automated differential. In such cases the medical technologist
    Medical technologist

    File:Lab tech.JPGA medical technologist is a healthcare professional who performs diagnostic analytic tests on body fluids such as blood, urine, sputum, feces, cerebrospinal fluid , peritoneal fluid, pericardial fluid, and synovial fluid, as well as other specimens....
     may obtain a buffy coat, from which a blood smear is made. This smear contains a much higher number of white blood cells than whole blood.