Estimation of Ideal Visible Spectrum Wavelength for Optimal ABO Blood Grouping using Spectrophotometry

Abstract

Introduction: The most widely accepted and used method of blood typing is the agglutination test with the antibodies A and B for identifying ABO blood group and a separate antibody D is used for giving Rh (Rhesus) type of the sample under study. The problem faced by this method is that it consumes more time and technician’s alertness in case of large number of samples. Thus, optical ABO blood grouping system with appropriate wavelength will improve the blood grouping with better accuracy and time efficiency. Aim: To determine the ideal wavelength of visible spectrum which has maximum absorbance with the agglutinated blood sample using spectrophotometry so that the estimated wavelength can be implemented as light source in an optical blood typing system for better results. Materials and Methods: An observational study has been performed on nine subjects which was conducted at Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering (SSNCE) Tamil Nadu, India. The subject’s blood were collected and mixed with saline. Antibodies A, B, D are added and the data of specific blood absorbance values were measured using Spectrometry. Obtained data were tabulated and graphically represented using Microsoft Excel. Results: The highest absorbance of sample corresponds to the wavelength in the range of 425-475 nm. Thus, this wavelength range is most suitable and ideal visible spectrum range for optimal ABO blood grouping using spectrophotometer. Significant difference of absorbance between various types of positive and negative samples is obtained. Conclusion: A difference in absorbance of 0.3 is seen between negative and positive samples. With further research and study, it is possible to separate the specific blood group after identification of the positive and negative types.

Keywords

• absorbance
• agglutination test
• antibodies
• blood group