Preparation of lyophilized abnormal hemoglobin control for cellulose acetate electrophoresis

A process for the preparation of stable lyophilized normal and abnormal hemoglobin controls for alkaline cellulose acetate electrophoresis is described. The hemoglobins were converted to cyanmethemoglobin derivatives with K3Fe(CN)6 and KCN. Sucrose, 100 g/l, was added to stabilize the preparation for lyophilization and storage and to increase the rate of reconstitution. Lyophilized preparations were stable with no loss of resolution for nine months of use in the laboratory and for two weeks of accelerated aging at 37 C. The materials appeared to have an extended shelf-life of at least two years at 5 C. The controls reconstituted quickly, usually within a minute, and could be stored at 5 C for three months with only a slight increase in band streaking. The lyophilized products appeared to be suitable to assist in the development of a quality-control system in hemoglobin screening programs employing cellulose acetate electrophoresis.