Elucidation of stability profiles of common chemistry analytes in serum stored at six graded temperatures

Background Many reports address the stability of biochemical analytes in serum. However, studies covering a wide range of storage temperatures are unavailable. Using equipment enabling precise temperature control, we investigated the effect of six different storage temperatures on serum analytes. Methods Serum specimens from seven healthy volunteers were obtained and divided into multiple aliquots for storage at -30, -20, -10, 0, 4, and 25 °C. On days 1, 3, 7, 14, 28 and 56, the aliquots stored at each temperature were relocated to a deep freezer maintained at -80 °C. On day 60, all aliquots were measured collectively for 13 major chemistry analytes. Results (1) At 25 °C, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatine kinase (CK), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and total bilirubin (TBil) were very unstable especially on day 7 and later. (2) At ≤4 °C, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), amylase (AMY), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), TBil and complement component-4 (C4) were generally stable and were very stable at 25 °C until day 14. (3) Between -20 and 4 °C, especially at -10 °C, test results of ALT, AST and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) showed prominent decreases, but their stability was greatly improved at -30 °C. (4) In contrast, the value of complement component-3 (C3) increased at ≥- 20 °C. (5) At -30 °C, test results of all analytes were generally very stable except for ALT and CK, which showed noticeable reductions in activity after 14 days. Conclusions This is the first study to assess the stability of serum analytes at six graded temperatures simultaneously. Each analyte has a unique stability pattern for a range of temperatures.