Blood Collection Processing and Handling for Plasma and Serum Proteomics

The plasma and serum proteome has enormous potential as a tool for understanding the health of a number of physiological systems. Despite this potential, the use of plasma and serum proteomics clinically and for research is limited, and there are no strict guidelines on how samples should be collected and prepared for proteomic analysis. Given the sensitivity of proteomic analysis, there are a number of pre-analytical variables that should be considered and determined prior to undertaking proteomics-based methodologies.In this chapter, we provide an example of a blood processing protocol and highlight major considerations for pre-analytical variables involving the collection, processing, and handling of blood samples for plasma and serum proteomics. We provide comprehensive notes on aspects of the protocol that must be considered before commencing sample collections for a proteomic study as well as a thorough checklist to be used when designing new proteomic studies.