The T-Cell Xtend reagent is an antibody complex that is added to blood samples in the laboratory immediately before running the T-SPOT.TB assay. The product was licenced throughout Europe in 2008 and gained FDA premarket approval in August 2010.
The T-Cell Xtend reagent allows blood samples to be processed up to 32 hours after venepuncture without affecting the accuracy of the test.
With the T-Cell Xtend reagent, the T-SPOT.TB test offers IGRA users unrivalled flexibility
Blood can be kept at room temperature for 32 hours prior to start of assay
The longest “time to lab” of any currently available IGRA
Blood samples can now be easily shipped overnight
Blood is collected in standard lithium heparin tubes
Does not require dedicated collection tubes or shaking of tubes