VMC 221: Veterinary Immunology and Serology (1+1)

SEPERATION OF SERUM

• Samples obtained from experimental animals are usually allowed to clot. The clotting process is assisted by maintaining the tubes at 37ºC for half an hour before transfer to a refrigerator for clot retraction.
• After 2-3 hours the clots are gently freed from the tube wall (‘rimming’) using sterile bacteriological inoculating loop and the tubes are centrifuged and serum collected.
• When larger volumes of blood are required, withheld food for overnight to obtain clear serum.