Identi-HEM®
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BLUESTAR® Identi-HEM® is a rapid, immunochromatographic test, in a device, for specific detection of human haemoglobin.
It is primarily intended for forensic technicians who have found blood stains at a crime scene and need to quickly check the human origin of the blood before eventually sending a sample to a lab for thorough analysis.
Highly sensitive, and very easy to use on a crime scene, BLUESTAR® Identi-HEM® specifically reacts with human haemoglobin. A positive result indicates a strong likelihood for the presence of human blood. A lab analysis will later confirm or infirm this presumption.
Product code : VD-HEM-24 (x24) and VD-HEM-6 (x6)
Principle
Haemoglobin is one of the main elements of blood. This protein is a choice marker for blood detection even when the quantity is very low. Moreover, thanks to the use of monoclonal antibodies, obtained from very complex cell culture techniques, immunology methods, used also in forensic medicine, provide both very high sensitivity and high specificity for human blood detection.
BLUESTAR® Identi-HEM® uses a unique combination of monoclonal antibodies bound to colloidal gold and polyclonal antibodies bound onto a solid phase in order to selectively identify, with high sensitivity and specificity, human haemoglobin.
After being collected with the provided swab, the sample is placed into an extraction buffer. After the sample has been dispensed on the cassette, the extraction medium is absorbed through migration, the antibodies bound to the colloidal gold then bind to the haemoglobin to form an antibody-antigen complex.
This complex then binds to the anti-haemoglobin antibodies present into the test area, and then a wine-couloured line appears. If there is no haemoglobin, no coloured line appears in the test area.
The mix keeps on migrating onto the membrane, goes beyond the test area, and then binds to the reagents into the control area to produce a wine-couloured line, guaranteeing the reaction performed correctly.
Sensitivity
The BLUESTAR® Identi-HEM® test can detect very low quantities of haemoglobin.
After dilution into the extraction buffer, the minimum haemoglobin level detected by the BLUESTAR® Identi-HEM® test is 0.01 μg/mL.
Cross-reactivity
Ox, pig, rabbit, stone/beech marten, pine marten, horse and sheep haemoglobin does not react with BLUESTAR® Identi-HEM®. European polecat blood yields a very faint positive reaction. See the results of the pine marten, beech marten and European polecat cross-reactivity study compared with BLUESTAR® OBTI.
Moreover, the human blood components such as albumin, haptoglobin, myoglobin and transferrin also result in negative results.
A positive result is not in itself an evidence of the presence of human blood but it indicates a high probability of its presence.
Content
- Collection tube (bottle type) containing 2 ml extraction buffer for the blood sample
- Sterile swab
- The test device
Use
- A sample of the presumed human blood trace is transferred into the tube with extraction buffer. Four drops of his mixture are added drop by drop to the test. A positive sample is typically detected within 10 minutes.
- A single wine-coloured line in the “C” area means the testing liquid is working fine but no human blood has been detected while two wine-coloured lines mean the test has worked properly and has detected human blood.
Storage
- All the components of the BLUESTAR® Identi-HEM® test have to be stored in a dry place with temperature range comprised between 2°C to 30°C (39°F to 90°F).
- Box of 24 tests. Order code # VD-HEM-24: Each box includes 24 collection tubes, 24 sterile swabs, 24 Identi-HEM® tests devices, and 1 user’s instructions sheet.
- Dimensions: 21.5 x 14 x 7.5 (8.5 x 5.5 x 3 inches)
- Weight: 395 grams (13.9oz)
- Box of 6 tests. Order code # VD-HEM-6: Each box includes 6 collection tubes, 6 sterile swabs, and 6 Identi-HEM® tests devices, and 1 user’s instructions sheet.
- Dimensions: 21.5 x 14 x 7.5 (8.5 x 5.5 x 3 inches)
- Weight: 200 grams (7.1oz)
