Electrophoresis Method for Sodium

SODIUM. Wen you hear the word sodium, what pops out to your mind? For everyone, sodium is the m ost common partner of cholride, when bonded together forms SODIUM CHLORIDE which in Laymans term is table salt. but whta lies beneath sodium?

Sodium is essential to the diet of both humans and animals and eben plants as well. It is the 6th most abundant element on Earth and comprises 2.8% of the Earth's crust. Sodium got ist name from soda, a compound that contain it. the chemical element of sodium is (Na), from the Latin word Natrium.

But what abouit the sodium level in our body? What is it's concectration? Is it good to have an increased level or decreassed level in our body? Whjat is its clinical significance?

ELECTROPHORESIS METHOD FRO SODIUM

Preparing the patient for the test.

• the patient is advised not to take the following for it will increase the level of sodium in the blood, giving a false positive result.

Anabolic steroids
Birth control pills
Certain antibiotics
Clonidine
Corticosteroids
Cough medications
Laxatives
Methyldopa
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

• the patient is also instructed not to take the following for it will decrease the level of sodium in the blood, giving a false negative result.

Carbamazepine
Diuretics
Sulfonylureas
Triamterene
Vasopressin

• too much water intake ios avoided, for it will affect the electrolyte balnce in the blood.

Preparing the for the test sample.

• a blood is widrawn from the patients antecubital vein using a syringe. the site is cleaned with antiseptic. The healthcare uses a torniquet to make the veins more visible.


• once the blood is obtained, the torniquet is removed. and the blood will be prepared fro serum separation.


• stand the collected blood for 15 to 30 minutes.


• rim it 1 to 2 times.


• after rimming, centrifuge it for 5 minutes at 2500 revolution per minute (rpm)


• aspirate the secified amount of serum for the test.

Protein Electrophoresis - Sodium

Principle. It is the movement of electrically chargde particles or molecules in a conductive medium under the influence of an applied electrical field.

The conductive medium is usually an aqueous buffer(run buffer), the mixture of the analyte is introduced in the medium containing the run buffer and an electrical field is applied.

The efficiency of the electrophoretic separation is governed by two main factorss: the electrophoretic mobility of the analytes and the electroosmotic flow of bulk solution. Upon application of the electric field, a current passes through the conductive buffer, which leads to Joule heating. This effect must be limited or controlled as heating can interfere with the separation process.

Serum represents a diverse microenvironment. The test can diagnose some inflammatory and neoplastic states, nephrotic syndromes. test determines wheter the patient is suffering from hyponatremia(low level of sodium in the blood) or hypernatremia(high level of sodium in the body) which has a clinical sigfnificant in our body if one of that happens.

Sodium is the major extracellular cation electrolyte in the body with 135 to 145 mmol/L.

Reference/s:

1. Bioanalytical Chemistry by Andreas Manz, Nicole Pamme, Dimitri Iossifidis