Direct Comparison of Metabolomics to Spectrophotometric Methods of Detecting ATP and
2,3-DPG in Red Cell Concentrates
Transfusion of red blood cells (RBCs) is one of the most common hospital interventions
worldwide. RBCs are stored refrigerated and have a shelf life of up to 42 days. During this
time, the cells undergo a “storage lesion”, which includes changes to cell metabolism, i.e. the
chemical reactions the cell uses to produce energy. Measuring these metabolic changes are
an important way to assess the quality of RBCs for transfusion. Two important metabolites,
ATP and DPG, are most commonly measured using commercially-available kits.
Unfortunately, over the last few years, the commercial kits to measure ATP and DPG have
been discontinued, resulting in a measurement crisis in the field. Without the kits, many blood
operators will not be able to generate the data they need to support development work and
regulatory submissions to optimize products or introduce new products. New methods are
urgently needed. This study will assess a new method to measure ATP and DPG, and,
crucially, will compare the results of the new method to results obtained using the few
remaining commercial kits Canadian Blood Services has. The findings will support the field in
moving forward with an accurate and reliable method that is comparable across operators
worldwide. RBCs are stored refrigerated and have a shelf life of up to 42 days. During this
time, the cells undergo a “storage lesion”, which includes changes to cell metabolism, i.e. the
chemical reactions the cell uses to produce energy. Measuring these metabolic changes are
an important way to assess the quality of RBCs for transfusion. Two important metabolites,
ATP and DPG, are most commonly measured using commercially-available kits.
Unfortunately, over the last few years, the commercial kits to measure ATP and DPG have
been discontinued, resulting in a measurement crisis in the field. Without the kits, many blood
operators will not be able to generate the data they need to support development work and
regulatory submissions to optimize products or introduce new products. New methods are
urgently needed. This study will assess a new method to measure ATP and DPG, and,
crucially, will compare the results of the new method to results obtained using the few
remaining commercial kits Canadian Blood Services has. The findings will support the field in
moving forward with an accurate and reliable method that is comparable across operators
Principal Investigator / Supervisor
ACKER, Jason
Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee
LI, Liang
WALSH, Geraldine
Institution
University of Alberta
Program
Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program
Province
Alberta
Total Amount Awarded
$30,000
Project Start Date
Project End Date