In a relationship, there has to be the right chemistry. The same is true of DUI
blood tests: if the chemistry isn't right, the whole thing goes bad. So you need a hard fighting, straight talking
Phoenix DUI Attorney who knows the chemistry--at least the chemistry of DUI (the chemistry of relationships is waaaay harder).
A blood test kit should contain two gray top tubes. The gray top indicates that they contain sodium flouride, a preservative. The purpose of the sodium flouride is to prevent endogenous formation of alcohol, i.e. formation of alcohol due to decomposition and fermentation of the blood. Decomposition and endogenous alcohol formation can result from the presence of a variety of microorganisms, but the most troublesome--because it is so common and so tough--is a yeast,
candida albicans.
The tube may also contain an anticoagulant. This may be potassium edetate (EDTA) or potassium oxalate. The combination of sodium flouride and EDTA produces a white powder which collects in the bottom of the tube; the combination of sodium flouride and potassium oxalate produces a pinkish powder. We will talk more about this later.
Gray top Vacutainer brand tubes from Becton, Dickenson and Co. are the most commonly used in Arizona, but they come in three varieties with two different types of gray top. They may contain sodium flouride and potassium oxalate, sodium flouride and EDTA, or sodium flouride alone. The last one is supposed to be used for blood serum, not whole blood, and will not be found in a commercially supplied kit from N.I.K, Lynn-Peavy, or Tri-Tech. However, some police departments assemble their own kits and may use these serum-only tubes, so the defense attorney must be vigilant in this regard.
The N.I.K. 4990 kit contains two 10 ml gray top Vacutainer tubes; each contains 20 mg of sodium flouride and 10 mg of EDTA. The tubes used in the N.I.K. 4990 kit were designed so that if the tube is full of blood, there will be a 1% solution of sodium flouride preservative. When police departments assemble their own kits, they typically use this type of tube, or a similar tube supplied by Monoject. This 1% level is required by law in some states. Arizona is not one of those states; there is no mandatory minimum amount of preservative required by Arizona law. In addition, there is evidence that a 1% solution is inadequate to prevent endogenous alcohol formation inside the tube by candida albicans (it is a tougher organism than many others). Research indicates that a 2% preservative solution is needed.
The N.I.K. 4994 kit and most Lynn-Peavy kits both contain two 10 ml gray top Vacutainer tubes, each with 100 mg of sodium flouride and 20 mg of potassium oxalate; the same is true of the Tri-Tech kit. You will note that this is five times as much sodium flouride preservative as the tubes used in the N.I.K. 4990 kit. So the tubes that many Arizona police departments use contain only 1/5 as much preservative as these other kits. In fact, these tubes were designed so that if the tube is full of blood, there will be a 2% solution of sodium flouride preservative. Of course, the 1% tubes have an important quality in their favor: they are cheaper.
Consequently, one of the first things to look for when examining a blood test case is what kind of tube was used. Obviously, you need a highly experienced attorney to assist you in determining this and using it at trial.