Patent ID: 8535617

Claim:
A lateral flow device for detecting the presence of an analyte in a whole blood sample, the device comprising a porous membrane, wherein the porous membrane further comprises: a barrier zone for separating red blood cells from the whole blood sample, wherein the barrier zone is formed from a blood cell barrier composition that comprises an unsaturated aliphatic fatty acid or ester thereof having a carbon chain of at least C 8 and more than one carbon-carbon double bond, wherein the blood cell barrier composition prevents the penetration of red blood cells into the porous membrane; and a detection zone for detecting the analyte, the detection zone being located downstream from the barrier zone and in fluid communication therewith, wherein the barrier zone and detection zone are located in the same plane, further wherein the barrier zone is in the form of a first line and the detection zone is in the form of a second line, wherein the first and second lines are spaced apart from each other by a section of the porous membrane.