ABSTRACT

Testing the Effects of Different Concentrations of Folic Acid on the Growth of Platelets as a Therapeutic Treatment for Thrombocytopenia

Folic acid is known to help generate red blood cells and is used as treatment for anemia. The purpose of this experiment is to test if folic acid has similar effects on platelets and can be used as a treatment for thrombocytopenia, and if so, how much folic acid is needed for the treatment to be most advantageous. The researcher’s hypotheses are, first, if folic acid is introduced to platelets, then platelet growth will be seen in the experiment, and, second, if a 0.12%, 0.24%, and 0.48% concentrations of folic acid are introduced to platelets, then the 0.24% concentration will generate the most platelet growth because a 0.24% concentration is above the average amount of folic acid in the body allowing for more growth to occur. The researcher first tested the platelet count of the platelet concentrate using a hemocytometer. The hemocytometer allows for the measure of cells to be found; the control group yielded 250,000 platelets/cubic milliliter(mL^3). Then 0.12%, 0.24%, and 0.48% concentrations of folic acid were each placed in 12 milliliters of platelet concentrate and the generation of platelets was viewed after 24 hours. The results of the experiment were that the control yielded 300,000 platelets/mL^3, the 0.12% folic acid concentration yielded 350,000 platelets/mL^3, the 0.24% folic acid concentration yielded 400,000 platelets/mL^3, and the 0.48% folic acid concentration yielded no results as the platelet count was not measurable.