Production of Phospholipids for In-vitro Diagnostic Use: Merits, Demerits and Innovation

Haemostasis is the physiological process that stops bleeding following blood vessel injury. It maintains blood in a fluid state within the circulation while preventing excessive blood loss, balanced by anticoagulant mechanisms to avoid pathological clotting. A key component of haemostasis is coagulation, which involves a cascade of enzymatic reactions leading to thrombin generation and fibrin clot formation. Phospholipids, particularly phosphatidylserine (PS), play an essential role in coagulation by offering a negatively charged surface for clotting factor complex assembly. Recent advances in diagnostic science have introduced synthetic phospholipids as substitutes for biologically derived thromboplastins in coagulation assays. This review is aimed at exploring the role of phospholipids in clot formation, examining the merits and challenges of phospholipid production for in-vitro coagulation diagnostics and recent technological advancement. Extensive search was carried out on the subject matter and more than fifty peer reviewed articles were consulted to gather information relating to the subject matter. Inferences were drawn from these articles and experience in the practice of Medical Laboratory Science were both used as guides from which relevant recommendations were made. This review becomes more important as the biomedical science world now adopt more of synthetic phospholipids in kits, rather than naturally-derived reagent. There is very little information articulated in the literature on the limitations of synthetic phospholipid, when compared to naturally-sourced phospholipid.