A comparison of whole blood neutrophil chemiluminescence measured with cuvette and microtitre plate luminometers.

Results obtained by measuring human whole blood neutrophil chemiluminescence (CL) using the BioOrbit 1251 cuvette luminometer and the Immunotech LM-01T microtitre plate luminometer are compared in this study. Opsonized zymosan, phorbol myristate acetate, N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe and calcium ionophore A23187 were used as activators. The CL response of neutrophils to their stimulation with the individual types of activators tested was fully detectable using either type of the luminometers. The kinetic curves of CL activity obtained from both the cuvette and the microtitre plate luminometers had similar characteristics. The only insignificant difference observed when comparing the kinetic curves was in the rates of the CL reactions. The peak CL response of activated neutrophils was reached faster when using the luminometer BioOrbit 1251 than with the luminometer Immunotech LM-01T. A likely reason for this difference is the mode of transporting samples during the measurement, inducing different degrees of agitation. However, although this fact needs to be considered when interpreting results, both types of luminometer can be fully utilized in both research and clinical laboratories. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.