In vitro assessment of the haemolytic potential of candidate drugs

Several chemicals cause haemolysis when administered to mammals by the intravenous route. From a regulatory point of view there are no recommended methods for assessing the haemolytic potential of candidate drugs. In our laboratory, we routinely investigate the reaction between human (or animal) whole blood and candidate drugs (or their vehicles or metabolites) and measure haemolysis by assaying haemoglobin in the supernatants. Here, we describe this method. This test is inexpensive and requires only few millilitres of whole blood.