The Effect of Imidazole on Human Platelet Aggregation

Since imidazole buffers have been used in platelet function tests and the compound has been reported to alter several biochemical activities of platelets, it seemed important to determine whether imidazole influenced platelet aggregation. ADP-induced, collagen-induced, and norepinephrine-induced platelet aggregations were tested in platelet-rich plasma by turbidimetric techniques. Glass bead-induced platelet aggregation in whole blood was tested by a method dependent upon platelet counts. Imidazole, in concentrations of 5mM or less, inhibited aggregation induced by each of these four agents and had negligible effect on the pH of platelet-rich plasma. The second phase of both ADP- and norepinephrine-induced aggregation was inhibited or abolished by imidazole, and 5mM imidazole also inhibited the first phase of norepinephrine-induced aggregation. As little as 0.5 mM imidazole inhibited collagen-induced aggregation in some plasmas. Imidazole appears to be unsuitable for use as a buffer in platelet function tests.