Test strip and method for determining HDL cholesterol concentration from whole blood or plasma

摘要

A multilayer test strip [20] and method of using the test strip [20] for determining concentration of HDL cholesterol in a whole blood sample. The inventive test strip [20] includes a two-stage blood separation mechanism, including a first glass fiber matrix [38] which separates most of the blood cells and an adjacent, second matrix [40] preferably also containing glass fibers that separates the remainder of the blood cells. The second layer [40] also precipates and retains non-HDL cholesterol, thereby providing plasma that is substantially free of red blood cells and substantially free of non-HDL cholesterol to a reaction layer [42]. Precipitation and retention on non-HDLs takes place by vertical or dead-end filtration in a single layer [40]. The reaction layer [42] produces a color, the intensity of which is proportional to the concentration of HDL cholesterol in the blood sample which is applied to the test strip. Advantageonsly, the inventive test strip [20] is a vertical flow device, which can be made more compact and operates more efficiently than a lateral flow device.