Patent ID: 6800450
Filing Date: 2004-10-05
Classification: C12Q,G01N,Y10S

Abstract:
A method for determining the activity of one or more components of a Protein C anticoagulant pathway, the method comprising the steps of:(a) adding a procoagulant reagent to a blood sample to activate a coagulation cascade; (b) adding calcium ions to the blood sample to trigger coagulation; (c) adding at least one metal ion to the blood sample at a concentration that increases anticoagulant activity of the Protein C anticoagulant pathway, the metal ion selected from the group consisting of Mg+2, Mn+2, Zn+2, Ni+2, Sr+2, Cu+2, and Cu+; (d) adding an exogenous substrate for an enzyme influenced by Protein C anticoagulant activity; and (e) comparing a characteristic of the exogenous substrate with a characteristic of the exogenous substrate as determined by the method recited in steps (a)-(d) for a normal blood sample.