Interaction of erythrocytes and hexavalent uranium compounds - an autoanalytical study.

Abstract

An automated analytical system was devised to measure the kinetics of hemolysis by uranyl compounds. Accurate plots of percentage hemolysis v. time were obtained; these together with the corresponding differential curves show that hemolysis of plasma-free erythrocytes is a two-stage process. The first stage of hemolysis is particularly affected by pH and anion content of uranyl solutions and also by incubation of cell suspensions at 37 deg. before mixing with lysing solution. Complementary studies involving Coulter counting and microscopic observation established the general pattern of hemolysis and showed that cell agglutination is a prominent feature of the interaction of cells with uranyl solutions.