Adsorption of tuberculin PPD to glass and plastic surfaces

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 (14)C.The decrease in radioactivity is due to adsorption of PPD-(14)C 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.