Osmolality Tests

Osmolality tests measure the amount of certain substances in your blood, urine, or stool. The tests can show how your kidneys are working and whether you have an unhealthy fluid balance.

The items measured by these tests are:

• Glucose (sugar)
• Urea (a waste product produced in the liver)
• Various electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and chloride.

Electrolytes are minerals that have an electrical charge when dissolved in water or body fluids. They help control the balance of fluids in the body. They also help balance acids and bases (pH balance) in the body.

Osmolality is the concentration of dissolved particles in body fluid. Concentration is based on the amount of particles found in a given amount of that fluid. Different factors can cause it to increase or decrease:

• When the amount of water in the blood decreases or the amount of substances such as sodium, chloride, and glucose increases, blood osmolality increases. When blood osmolality increases, it causes the kidney to retain water. This makes the urine more concentrated.
• When the amount of water in the blood increases, blood osmolality decreases. This makes the urine more dilute.

This process helps the body maintain a healthy fluid balance. But sometimes this balance can become disrupted. Many different conditions and factors can cause an unhealthy fluid balance, including too much salt intake, kidney disease, heart disease, and some types of poisoning.

Osmolality tests can be used for a variety of reasons. A blood osmolality test, also known as a serum osmolality test, is often used to:

• Controlling the balance between water and certain substances in the blood.
• Find out if a poison such as antifreeze or rubbing alcohol has been swallowed.
• To control overdose of medications such as salicylates, commonly found in aspirin.
• To help diagnose dehydration, a condition in which the body loses too much fluid.
• To help diagnose overhydration, a condition in which the body retains too much fluid.
• To help diagnose diabetes insipidus, a condition that affects the kidneys.

An osmolality blood test is a test that measures the concentration of all chemical particles in the liquid part of blood. Osmolality in urine can be measured with a urine test. Blood is taken from a vein, usually from the inside of the elbow or the back of the hand.

Simply put, osmolality is a measure of the total number of solutes in a liquid solution, expressed as osmoles of solute particles per kilogram of solvent. It is possible to test the osmolality of many solutions, including serum, urine, plasma, and biologics. A special device called an osmometer is used to test osmolality. Freezing point depression osmometers are the industry's preferred solution in clinical chemistry, pharmaceutical, and quality control laboratories.

Biopharmaceutical laboratories use osmolality testing as an in-process control and quality control throughout the development and manufacturing of biologics. Osmolality testing helps ensure cell health, in-process reagent quality, and helps reduce the risk of batch failures.

To ensure a quality production process, the use of process analytical technology is recommended. Osmolality can be used as a process analytical technology to monitor raw material components, process intermediates and finished products. Osmolality is a measure of solute concentration in process fluids and is considered an important quality characteristic and critical value in bioprocessing.

In short, osmolality and osmolarity indicate how much solute a liquid contains. These tests reveal the amount of osmotically active substances in a sample and are often used as quality control measurements in many industries, including pharmaceutical, supplement, and food manufacturing.

Among the numerous tests, measurements, analyses and evaluations our organization has carried out for businesses in various sectors, it also provides osmolality testing services with its trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment.