Skip to main content
PMC home page
Bulletin of the World Health Organization logoLink to Bulletin of the World Health Organization
. 1966;35(4):593–602.

Adsorption of tuberculin PPD to glass and plastic surfaces

S Landi, H R Held, A H W Hauschild, R Hilsheimer
PMCID: PMC2476022  PMID: 5297556

Abstract

For some time it has been known that the adsorption of tuberculin to glass is a source of practical difficulties in tuberculin testing; for example, it leads to a loss of potency in diluted tuberculin PPD preparations used in the intracutaneous method of skin testing. The authors have correlated decreasing biological potency with decreasing radioactivity in solutions of tuberculin PPD labelled with 14C.

The decrease in radioactivity is due to adsorption of PPD-14C to the glass or plastic surface of containers; it can be prevented by the addition of 0.0005% Tween 80. The extent of the decrease is affected by the type and size of the containers, the volume of solution used and the storage temperature. It is the same in the presence of 0.3% phenol or 0.01% Chinosol used as preservatives. The concentration of Tween 80 does not affect the size of the tuberculin skin reactions in BCG-sensitized guinea-pigs.

It is recommended that an anti-adsorption agent be added to all dilute solutions of tuberculin PPD; in solutions for intracutaneous use containing 50 TU per ml, Tween 80 at a concentration of 0.0005% is satisfactory.

Full text

PDF
593

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. COMSTOCK G. W., EDWARDS L. B., PHILIP R. N., WINN W. A. A COMPARISON IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OF TWO TUBERCULINS, PPD-S AND RT 23. Bull World Health Organ. 1964;31:161–170. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Guld J., Roelsgaard E. The effect of Tween 80 on intradermal tuberculin reactions. Bull World Health Organ. 1965;33(3):345–363. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. LANDI S., HELD H. R. PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON VARIOUS PREPARATIONS OF TUBERCULIN PURIFIED PROTEIN DERIVATIVE. Appl Microbiol. 1965 Mar;13:132–139. doi: 10.1128/am.13.2.132-139.1965. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. LANDI S. PREPARATION, PURIFICATION, AND STABILITY OF TUBERCULIN. Appl Microbiol. 1963 Sep;11:408–412. doi: 10.1128/am.11.5.408-412.1963. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Landi S., Held H. R. Prevention of chinosol absorption by rubber stoppers used to seal glass vials containing tuberculin PPD Mantoux solutions. Bull World Health Organ. 1965;33(3):395–404. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. MAGNUSSON M., GULD J., MAGNUS K., WAALER H. Diluents for stabilization of tuberculin. Bull World Health Organ. 1958;19(5):799–828. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Toman K., Polánský F., Hejdová E., Sterbová E. Gelatin and Tween 80 as stabilizing agents for tuberculin dilutions. Bull World Health Organ. 1965;33(3):365–373. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. WAALER H., GULD J., MAGNUS K., MAGNUSSON M. Adsorption of tuberculin to glass. Bull World Health Organ. 1958;19(5):783–798. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. WIJSMULLER G., MAGNUSSON M., LARSEN S. O. Influence of tween 80 on size of tuberculin reactions. Acta Tuberc Pneumol Scand. 1962;42:79–108. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. WIJSMULLER G. Some implications of the addition of Tween 80 to dilutions of PPD tuberculin with respect to the study of "specific" and "nonspecific" tuberculin sensitivity. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1961 Jun;83:815–825. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1961.83.6.815. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. WING W. T. An examination of rubber used as a closure for containers of injectable solutions. III. The effect of the chemical composition of the rubber mix on phenol and chlorocresol absorption. J Pharm Pharmacol. 1956 Oct;8(10):738–744. doi: 10.1111/j.2042-7158.1956.tb12205.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Bulletin of the World Health Organization are provided here courtesy of World Health Organization

RESOURCES