Simple modification of the cellulose acetate method for identifying adult hemoglobin (hemoglobin A) in dried specimens of newborn blood.

Definition of hemoglobin A in cellulose acetate electrophoretograms of eluate from air-dried specimens of newborns' blood was improved by adding glycerine to the Tris--ethylenediametetraacetic acid--borate buffer system. Examination of 1,672 randomly received samples showed no reduction in ability to detect hemoglobin S with the modified buffer. The method may be adopted as a useful adjunct to current technics for rapid electrophoretic screening of neonatal dried blood samples.