Immunoassay Interference by a Commonly Used Blood Collection Tube Additive, the Organosilicone Surfactant Silwet L-720

Abstract
Background: A small number of immunoassays on several different types of analyzers were recently adversely affected by tube additives in Becton Dickinson (BD) Vacutainer® SST™, SST II, and Microtainer™ blood collection tubes. We examined the effect of a commonly used tube surfactant, Silwet™ L-720, on immunoassays and the mechanism for the interference.