the present invention is directed to a heparin - bulking agent composition as an anti - coagulant , the composition having a heparin component and at least one bulking agent component . in some aspects , the heparin - bulking agent composition is provided in a free - flowing powder form . in certain aspects , the heparin component may be a heparin salt such as lithium , sodium , calcium , zinc or combinations thereof . the one or more bulking agent components are selected to be non - reactive with the components within a blood sample to avoid impacting the blood gas analysis . in certain aspects , the bulking agent component is a water soluble material . such water soluble materials that are suitable to be a bulking agent component include a sugar alcohol , a carbohydrate such as a monosaccharide , a disaccharide , a trisaccharide , a polysaccharide , a water - soluble polymer , or combinations thereof . in certain aspects , the bulking agent can be , but is not limited to , a monosaccharide alcohol , a α1 - 1 disaccharide , a α1 - 6 , β1 - 2 trisaccharide , an α1 - β2 disaccharide , an β1 - 4 disaccharide , a polyvinylpyrollidone , or combinations thereof . in certain aspects , the bulking agent is chosen from mannitol , trehalose , raffinose , sorbitol , sucrose , lactose , polyvinylpyrollidone , and combinations thereof . in some aspects , the bulking agent is the monosaccharide alcohol d - mannitol . in some aspects , the bulking agent is the monosaccharide d - sorbitol . in some aspects , the bulking agent is the α1 - β2 disaccharide sucrose . in some aspects , the bulking agent is the β1 - 4 disaccharide α - lactose . in some aspects , the bulking agent is the α1 - 1 disaccharide d (+) trehalose dehydrate . in some aspects , the bulking agent is the α1 - 6 , β1 - 2 trisaccharide d - raffinose pentahydrate . in some aspects , the bulking agent is a polyvinylpyrollidone . in some aspects , the bulking agent is one or more of the monosaccharide d - sorbitol , the α1 - β2 disaccharide sucrose , the β1 - 4 disaccharide α - lactose , the α1 - 1 disaccharide d (+) trehalose dehydrate , the α1 - 6 , β1 - 2 trisaccharide d - raffinose pentahydrate , and polyvinylpyrollidone . in certain aspects of the present invention , a method of making an anti - coagulant formulation comprises providing a source of heparin with a known activity concentration and a source of at least one bulking agent . in certain aspects , the source of heparin may be either a dry or solution of a heparin salt , such as heparin salts chosen from lithium , sodium , calcium , or zinc . in certain aspects , the source of heparin comprises lyophilized heparin . in certain aspects , the source of the at least one bulking agent can be provided in either a dry or solution form . the source of heparin and the source of at least one bulking agent are combined in a predetermined ratio to obtain the desired activity concentration of heparin units per milligram . the heparin component and the at least one bulking agent are then mixed in solution until the source of heparin and the source of at least one bulking agent are dissolved in solution to form a heparin - bulking agent formulation . the heparin - bulking agent formulation is then either lyophilized or spray dried to form a heparin - bulking agent composition . the heparin - bulking agent composition can undergo further processing , such as being ground to provide the heparin - bulking agent as a free - flowing powder . in certain aspects of the present invention , the heparin - bulking agent formulation contains one or more additives that do not substantially affect the activity of the heparin component . such additives may include a buffering agent , a stabilizer , or combinations thereof . in certain aspects , the heparin - bulking agent formulation contains calcium acetate , as heparin has an affinity for calcium that depletes a blood sample of the calcium giving false low values of the calcium content in a blood sample of a patient . thus , the calcium component already loaded in the heparin composition by virtue of the calcium acetate allows an accurate reading of a patient blood sample to be obtained . the one or more additives may be added to the heparin component , the bulking - agent component , or to a solution of the heparin component and bulking - agent component . the one or more additives may be added as a solution or a solid material . the one or more additives may comprise less than about 10 % by total solid content of the heparin - bulking agent formulation and also the resulting heparin - bulking agent composition after lyophilization or spray drying , in some aspects less than about 8 %, in some aspects less than about 6 %, in some aspects less than about 4 %, in some aspects less than about 2 %, in some aspects less than about 1 %, and in some other aspects there is no additive in the heparin - bulking agent formulation . referring now generally to the figures , particularly the lyophilization flow - diagram in fig1 and the spray drying flow - diagram in fig2 , methods of preparing a heparin - bulking agent composition , which comprises a heparin component and a bulking agent component , comprise providing a source of heparin having a known activity concentration and a source of at least one bulking agent 10 . both the heparin component and the at least one bulking agent component can be provided as dry components . the heparin component and the at least one bulking agent component can also both be provided in solution . the heparin component can also be provided in solution while the at least one bulking agent component is provided as a dry component , or the heparin component can be provided as a dry component while the at least one bulking agent component is provided in solution . after the heparin component and the bulking agent component ( s ) are provided , the heparin component and the bulking agent component ( s ) are then combined , mixed together , and / or dissolved in solution 12 to provide a heparin - bulking agent formulation . in the situation where either the heparin component , the bulking agent component ( s ) and / or both the heparin component and the bulking agent component ( s ) are provided in solution , the solution of the component provided in solution may serve as the solvent to dissolve the heparin and the one or more bulking agents in solution . in certain aspects , a desired quantity of heparin by weight is determined and measured ( by weight or volume ) to which a desired amount of at least one bulking agent is determined and measured ( by weight or volume ) and added before the heparin component and bulking agent component ( s ) are dissolved in solution 12 . in certain aspects , the heparin component may be provided as a raw heparin powder , such as lyophilized heparin , or in solution , and the bulking agent component ( s ) may be provided as a dry component or in solution , before being combined , mixed together and dissolved 12 in a solvent , such as water . one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the heparin component and the bulking agent component ( s ), whether as a solution or in dry form , may be combined together in either order . for instance , one or more bulking agent components in dry granular form may be provided into a heparin solution , a raw heparin powder may be provided into a solution of one or more bulking agent components , the heparin and the one or more bulking agent components may be provided in dry form and added to a measured volume of solvent such as water , or the like . in certain aspects , the at least one bulking agent and heparin are dissolved 12 in solution with the bulking agent component comprising about 60 % to about 97 % of the heparin - bulking agent mixture by weight of the solid content while the heparin component comprising about 3 % to about 40 % of the heparin - bulking agent mixture by weight of the solid content , although other ratios greater or less than the foregoing ranges are contemplated herein based upon the respective activity of the heparin component . for example , the bulking agent component may be provided in an amount of about 11 grams while the heparin component is provided in an amount of about 4 grams . in certain aspects , the method can further comprise an optional solubility step 14 , in which a quantity of water ( e . g ., de - ionized water ) is added to the heparin - bulking agent mixture to facilitate the dissolution of the bulking agent and / or heparin into the heparin - bulking agent solution mixture . the amount of water can vary , although in certain aspects the amount of water is added such that there is about 10 % to about 25 % by weight solid content , and in some other aspects about 10 % to about 20 % by weight solid content , of the heparin and bulking agent ( s ) in solution for a subsequent lyophilization process according to the method illustrated in the flow diagram of fig1 . as illustrated in fig1 , after the desired heparin - bulking agent formulation in solution is obtained , the method can further comprise a freezing step 16 in which the heparin - bulking agent formulation in solution is cooled to temperatures below about − 26 ° c ., in some instances below about − 28 ° c ., in some instances below about − 30 ° c ., in some instances below about − 32 ° c ., and in some other instances below about − 35 ° c . for the mixture to achieve complete solidification . in some aspects , the heparin - bulking agent formulation in solution achieves complete solidification in less than about 1 hour , in some instances less than about 45 minutes , in some instances less than about 30 minutes , in some instances less than about 20 minutes , in some instances less than about 15 minutes , and in some instances less than about 10 minutes . in some instances , the heparin - bulking agent formulation in solution can be frozen to a state of complete solidification at a temperature of about − 26 ° c . to about − 80 ° c . for a freezing period of time of about 10 minutes to about 8 hours . the method further comprises a primary drying step 18 in which the frozen heparin - bulking agent formulation is lyophilized for a primary period of time . for example , without being bound by limitation , the mixture can be placed within the condenser chamber of a lyophilizer having a temperature of about − 50 ° c . and a system pressure of about 950 mbar absolute for a primary period of about 48 hours . one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other lyophilization temperatures , pressures and periods of time can be utilized and are contemplated herein . for example , in some aspects , the heparin - bulking agent formulation undergoes a lyophilization cycle in which the heparin - bulking agent formulation is exposed to more than one freezing temperature of about − 10 ° c . to about − 80 ° c . for different periods of time , which may also occur under chamber pressure or pressures ranging from about 1 mtorr to about 250 mtorr . in certain aspects , the solidified heparin - bulking agent formulation is dried to produce a heparing - bulking agent composition having a moisture content less than about 10 %, in some aspects less than about 7 . 5 %, in some aspects less than about 5 %, in some aspects less than about 2 . 5 %, and in some further aspects less than about 1 . 5 %, during the primary drying step 18 . the method may further comprise a grinding step 20 , in which the lyophilized heparin - bulking agent composition is removed from the drying container and ground into a powder . the lyophilized heparin - bulking agent composition can be ground using known milling processes , such as a mortar and pestle , ball mill , hammer mill , cryogenic grinding , cryo - milling , or the like grinding methods for providing a powder with desired particle size so as to allow efficient and accurate powder filling using current powder filling technology . in certain aspects , the method further comprises an optional second drying step 22 in which the powder is dried for a second period of time . in the optional second drying step 22 , the heparin - bulking agent composition can be dried at ambient temperature on a shelf dryer . for instance , without being bound by limitation , the second period of time can comprise about 24 hours , although shorter and longer periods of time are contemplated herein . in one aspect , the moisture content of the heparin - bulking agent composition powder following the second drying step 22 can be less than about 10 %, in some aspects less than about 7 . 5 %, in some aspects less than about 5 %, in some aspects less than about 2 . 5 %, and in some further aspects less than about 1 . 5 %. alternative to the lyophilization process , as shown in the flow diagram of fig2 , after the desired heparin - bulking agent formulation in solution is obtained , the method can further comprise spray drying 19 the heparin - bulking agent formulation using a standard spray drying system . for instance , without being bound by limitation , the heparin - bulking agent formulation in solution is spray dried using a spray dryer equipped with a two fluid atomizing nozzle , standard drying chamber , and standard solids separation cyclone . the method may further comprise a grinding step 20 in which the spray dried heparin - bulking agent mixture is further ground using known milling processes , such as a mortar and pestle , ball mill , hammer mill , cryogenic grinding , cryo - milling , or the like grinding methods for providing a powder with desired particle size so as to allow efficient and accurate powder filling using current powder filling technology . whether the heparin - bulking agent powder composition is prepared using the lyophilization process illustrated in fig1 or the spray drying process illustrated in fig2 , the method can further comprise a filling step 24 in which a container is dry filled with the dried powder using current powder filling technology . in certain aspects , as shown in fig3 - 7 , the container in the dry - filling step may be a syringe 30 having a barrel 32 , a needle 34 and a plunger 36 . the barrel 32 defines an internal volume 38 for receiving the heparin - bulking agent composition 46 in a powder form and a blood sample . the barrel 32 further comprises a first opening 40 at one of the internal volume 38 and a second opening 42 at the opposite end of the internal volume 38 . as depicted , the needle 34 is fitted to the first opening 40 and the plunger 36 is insertable into the second opening 42 to draw and expel material through the needle 34 into and out of the internal volume 38 . the description of the syringe 30 is not intended to be limiting , but to assist in the description the loading of the syringe 30 with the free - flowing powdered heparin - bulking agent composition . as shown in fig4 - 5 , the powdered composition 46 can be dry filled through the second opening 42 into the internal volume 38 . the plunger 36 can then be inserted into the second opening 42 and depressed , as shown in fig5 , to remove any unused volume within the internal volume 38 . as shown in fig6 - 7 , during use of the syringe 30 containing the powdered heparin - bulking agent composition 46 , the plunger 36 can be pulled to create a vacuum within the internal volume 38 and draw a blood sample into the internal volume 38 . the flow of the blood sample into the internal volume 38 agitates the powdered heparin - bulking agent composition 46 and dissolves the heparin - bulking agent composition 46 into the blood sample to form a heparin - blood composition 48 , the heparin - bulking agent composition 46 used as an anti - coagulant . referring now to fig8 , the syringe 30 containing a free - flowing powder of the heparin - bulking agent composition 48 , the plunger 36 can be provided at a preset position and contain a special filter 44 thereon . thus , when arterial blood is provided into the internal volume 38 , wherein the arterial blood forces air past the plunger filter tip 44 until the arterial blood contacts the tip of the plunger thereby plugging the filter 44 . the flow of the arterial blood into the internal volume 38 also dissolves the heparin - bulking agent powder composition 46 , which serves as an anti - coagulant , to form a heparin - blood composition 48 . as provided by the foregoing syringe embodiments , the powdered heparin - bulking agent composition can be provided in any type of blood sample container where an anti - coagulant is desired , including , but not limited to , such as a blood sample collection tube , a syringe , a vacuum tube , and the like . in certain aspects , the blood collection container , such as a syringe , contains about 0 . 5 mg to about 5 mg of the free - flowing , powdered heparin - bulking agent composition , in some other aspects about 1 . 0 mg to about 3 . 0 mg , in some other aspects about 1 . 5 mg to about 2 . 0 mg , although other amounts greater or less than the foregoing ranges and subranges being contemplated herein . in another aspect , the heparin - bulking agent composition within the respective system has a moisture content less than about 10 %, in some aspects less than about 7 . 5 %, in some aspects less than about 5 %, in some aspects less than about 2 . 5 %, and in some further aspects less than about 1 . 5 %. a range of the particle size distribution between the x 10 and the x 90 values of the powdered heparin - bulking agent composition may be less than about 320 microns , in some aspects less than about 300 microns , in some aspects less than about 270 microns , and in some other aspects less than about 250 microns . the powdered heparin - bulking agent composition may have a particle size distribution with respect to the x 10 and the x 90 values that is in the range between about 4 microns to about 400 microns , in some aspects about 8 microns to about 390 microns , in some aspects about 10 microns to about 380 microns , in some aspects about 15 microns to about 350 microns , in some aspects about 35 microns to about 280 microns , and still in some other aspects about 40 microns to about 380 microns . in certain aspects of the present invention , the heparin - bulking agent composition in a free - flowing powder has a particle size distribution x 10 value greater than about 4 microns , in some aspects greater than about 8 microns , in some aspects greater than about 10 microns , in some aspects greater than about 15 microns , in some aspects greater than about 25 microns , and in some aspects greater than about 30 microns . in some aspects , the powdered heparin - bulking agent composition has a particle size distribution x 10 value in the range of about 4 microns to about 40 microns , in some aspects about 4 microns to about 35 microns , in some aspects about 4 microns to about 30 microns , in some other aspects about 8 microns to about 32 microns , in some aspects about 8 microns to about 18 microns , in some aspects about 10 microns to about 18 microns , and in some other aspects about 25 microns to about 40 microns . in certain aspects of the present invention , the powdered heparin - bulking agent has a particle size distribution x 90 value less than about 400 microns , in some aspects less than about 390 microns , in some aspects less than about 350 microns , in some aspects less than about 340 microns , in some aspects less than about 320 microns , in some aspects less than about 300 microns , in some aspects less than about 280 microns , and in some other aspects less than about 260 microns . in some aspects , the powdered heparin - bulking agent composition has a particle size distribution x 90 value in the range of about 260 microns to about 400 microns , in some aspects about 260 microns to about 280 microns , in some aspects about 280 microns to about 400 microns , in some other aspects about 280 microns to about 320 microns , in some aspects about 280 microns to about 340 microns , in some aspects about 250 microns to about 320 microns , and in some other aspects about 300 microns to about 320 microns . in certain aspects of the present invention , the powdered heparin - bulking agent composition has a particle size distribution x 50 value in the range of about 80 microns to about 140 microns , in some aspects about 80 microns to about 100 microns , in some aspects about 85 microns to about 95 microns , in some aspects about 120 microns to about 140 microns , and in some other aspects about 125 microns to about 135 microns . with respect to a syringe loaded with a heparin - bulking agent composition of the present invention , at least a portion of the barrel of the syringe is pre - loaded with the free - flowing powdered anti - coagulant , the syringe having a plunger and a needle . the plunger of the syringe is pulled to create a vacuum within the barrel to pull a blood sample into the barrel , wherein the flow of blood into the barrel circulates and dissolves the anti - coagulant into the blood . alternatively , arterial blood may be allowed to fill a syringe pre - loaded with the free - flowing powdered anti - coagulant , the syringe having a pre - set plunger position , wherein the flow of blood into the barrel circulates and dissolves the anti - coagulant into the blood . the syringe , or an aliquot of the blood sample having the dissolved anti - coagulant from the syringe , may be placed into a blood analyzer for analysis . alternatively , the plunger can be actuated to expel the blood sample and anti - coagulant mixture into a sample blank that is insertable into a blood analyzer for analysis . the effect of lyophilization on the heparin - bulking agent formulation was tested by combining 60 ml of heparin solution containing about 2556 mg of heparin with about 7274 mg of bulking agent , wherein the bulking agent was sucrose , mannitol , trehalose or raffinose . 60 ml of de - ionized water was added to the heparin - bulking agent mixture to fully dissolve the bulking agent . the heparin - bulking agent mixture was then lyophilized for about 48 hours at about − 50 ° c . in a lyophilizer having a system pressure of about 950 mbar absolute . the lyophilized heparin - bulking agent composition was then ground into a powder before being dried at ambient temperature for about 24 hours . the resulting heparin - bulking agent compositions in a dried powder form were evaluated for yield ( weight ), residual moisture and flow - ability characteristics . all four formulations dried easily with mannitol having the best appearing cake and lowest bulk density , trehalos and raffinose having the freest flowing powder , and sucrose producing a slightly glassy cake after drying . the effect of spray drying on the heparin - bulking agent formulation was tested by combining 200 ml of heparin solution containing about 8520 mg of heparin with about 24240 mg of bulking agent and mixed until the bulking agent is dissolved into the heparin solution . the bulking agent was selected from sucrose , trehalose , raffinose and mannitol . the heparin - bulking agent mixture was then successfully spray dried at different sprayer inlet temperatures ranging from about 115 ° c . to about 175 ° c ., sprayer outlet temperatures ranging from about 50 ° c . to about 65 ° c ., heparin - bulking agent mixture feed rates of about 6 ml / min to about 9 ml / min , while obtaining the following residual moisture of the dried heparin - bulking agent mixture . [ wt ] % residual moisture bulking agent spray dried mannitol 3 . 9 % trehalose 8 . 2 % raffinose 7 . 7 % these results demonstrate that the heparin - bulking agent composition can be spray dried and were not optimized for a final low or otherwise desired residual moisture content . in certain aspects , the final particulate size of the dried heparin - bulking agent formulation can be controlled by adjusting the droplet size exiting the sprayer nozzle . the droplet size can be adjusted such that milling of the dried heparin formulation to the desired particulate size for the powder is not necessary or otherwise an optional step . in certain aspects , the final particulate size can be controlled by altering the milling speed and passing the milled particulates through a sieve screen . in certain aspects , the dried heparin formulation can be milled at 2000 rpm and passed through a 0 . 050 mm screen to provide a consistent particulate size without clumping . 1 . 5 mg of the powdered heparin - bulking agent mixtures with different bulking agents were loaded into a syringe 30 for evaluating the differences between the flowability and dissolution characteristics when the powder is formed by lyophilization or spray dried . a surrogate blood buffer solution was introduced into the syringe at a rate approximating the flow rate of blood collected from an artery . the heparin - bulking agent powdered compositions using raffinose and trehalose as the bulking agent were further evaluated for shelf - life using an accelerated shelf - life protocol to simulate real time shelf life . to conduct the accelerated shelf - life analysis , the stability of the powdered samples was determined using anti - factor iia test methodology following the usp monograph with guidance for using elevated temperature to simulate real time following astm f1980 standard testing at a conditioning temperature of 50 ° c . material from pre - gamma , t = 0 equivalent year , t = 1 equivalent year , t = 3 equivalent year and t = 5 equivalent year were analyzed for anti - factor iia testing , which as shown in the following tables show no real trending . in the following example , a first heparin - bulking agent composition contains d - mannitol as the bulking agent ( referred to in this example for ease of reference as “ heparin - mannitol composition ”), and a second heparin - bulking agent composition contains α , α - trehalose as the bulking agent ( referred to in this example for ease of reference as “ heparin - trehalose composition ”). with respect to the preparation of the heparin - mannitol composition , 61 . 5 grams of a lyophilized lithium salt of heparin and 163 . 5 grams of d - mannitol were combined together , to which 1000 ml of purified water and 6 . 14 grams of a calcium acetate stock solution ( the calcium acetate stock solution comprising 0 . 100 grams of calcium acetate dissolved in 100 ml of purified water ) were added . the calcium acetate is added to the formulation to negate any effect the heparin activity may have on the calcium analysis of a blood sample , including artificially low calcium values . the combined components were stirred until dissolved in solution and then the solution was brought to volume by adding purified water to equal 1500 ml of a prepared heparin - mannitol formulation . with respect to the preparation of the heparin - trehalose composition , 61 . 51 grams of lyophilized lithium salt of heparin and 180 . 59 grams of α , α - trehalose were combined , to which 1000 ml of purified water and 6 . 15 grams of the calcium acetate stock solution were added . the combined components were stirred until dissolved in solution and then the solution was brought to volume by adding purified water to equal 1500 ml of a prepared heparin - trehalose formulation . once the heparin - bulking agent formulations were prepared , the respective heparin - bulking agent formulations underwent a lyophilization cycle process , which includes pre - chilling the lyophilizer to 4 ° c . at an ambient temperature , adding 1500 ml of the respective heparin - bulking agent formulation into a disposable lyophilization tray and placed into the pre - chilled lyophilizer , and then running a programmed lyophilization cycle on the heparin - bulking agent formulation that includes ramp and hold steps at various pressures , temperatures and periods of time . in particular , the heparin - mannitol formulation underwent a lyophilization cycle process provided in table 6 . with respect to the heparin - mannitol composition , the phase transition temperature acquired from a resistance graph suggests that cooling to below temperatures of at least − 23 ° c . would be required for achieving solidification during freezing . observations under the microscope suggest cooling to below temperatures of at least − 18 ° c . would be required for achieving solidification . since , visual observations under the freeze drying microscope are more accurate , it is recommended that the material be cooled to temperatures below − 18 ° c . to achieve complete solidification . the electrical resistance graph notes changes at − 23 ° c . during warming . lt - dsc indicated that a glass transition occurred at − 32 ° c . observations under the microscope revealed the formation of voids at temperatures as low as − 30 ° c . also , darkened bands , followed by glistening , were observed along the top edge of the sample at temperatures of − 49 ° c . however , it appeared that these darkened areas and glistening did not affect nor prevent continued drying of the sample . thus , product temperatures should be maintained at or below a range of − 32 ° c . to − 34 ° c . for complete drying with retention of the structure established during the freeze and the absence of collapse . with respect to the heparin - trehalose composition , the phase transition temperature acquired from a resistance graph suggests that cooling to below temperatures of at least − 26 ° c . would be required for achieving solidification during freezing . observations under the microscope also suggest cooling to below temperatures of at least − 26 ° c . would be required for achieving solidification . therefore , it is recommended that the material be cooled to temperatures below − 26 ° c . to achieve complete solidification . the electrical resistance graph notes changes at − 26 ° c . during warming . lt - dsc indicated a glass transition occurred at − 32 ° c . observations under the microscope revealed void formation beginning at temperatures as low as − 31 ° c . also , areas of darkened material were observed along the top edge of the sample at temperatures of − 49 ° c . in addition , small glistening areas were observed near the darkened material at temperatures of − 43 ° c . however , it appeared that these darkened areas and glistening did not affect nor prevent continued drying of the sample . thus , product temperatures should be maintained at or below a range of − 33 ° c . to − 35 ° c . for complete drying with retention of the structure established during the freeze and the absence of collapse . after lyophilizing the heparin - bulking agent formulations to form the respective heparin - mannitol composition and heparin - trehalose composition , the lyophilization trays were removed from the lyophilizer , the solid cake was removed and weighed . the lyophilized heparin - mannitol composition weighed 230 . 97 grams , which resulted in a yield from the 1500 ml of about 15 . 40 %. the lyophilized heparin - trehalose composition weighed 231 . 04 grams , which resulted in a yield from the 1500 ml of about 15 . 40 %. the lyophilized heparin - bulking agent compositions were then ground using hammer mill processing . it was determined that hammer mill processing utilizing a 0 . 050 ″ screen at speed of about 2000 rpm for about 2 to about 3 minutes provided free - flowing powder granules having a consistent particle size for both compositions . the heparin - mannitol composition after milling weighed 195 . 36 grams , which resulted in a yield after milling of about 13 . 02 %. the heparin - trehalose composition after milling weighed 204 . 81 grams , which resulted in a yield after milling of about 13 . 65 %. both the heparin - mannitol and the heparin - trehalose compositions underwent moisture content analysis using the karl fischer process . the average moisture content of two samples of the free - flowing , powdered heparin - mannitol composition was about 5 . 2 %, while the average moisture content of three samples of the free - flowing , powdered heparin - trehalose composition was about 6 . 3 %. samples of the heparin - mannitol composition and heparin - trehalose composition were also placed on a microbalance to determine the weight gain of the samples at a percentage of relative humidity . the resulting adsorption / desorption isotherm graphs of the heparin - mannitol composition is shown in fig1 and that of the heparin - trehalose composition is shown in fig1 . these isotherms illustrate that the heparin - trehalose composition has a greater rate of adsorption than the heparin - mannitol composition , with both heparin - bulking agent compositions having about 50 % weight change at about 95 % relative humidity . both the heparin - mannitol composition and the heparin - trehalose composition were tested for dissolution time as pre - sterile material and post - sterile material in both gamma and electron beam ( e - beam ) methods at 40 kgy . a laboratory device that simulates the force of arterial blood entering a syringe was used with hanks buffer as the liquid . the heparin - bulking agent formulations were frozen on the lyophilizer shelf . the dissolution results are summarized in table 8 . the results as provided in table 8 illustrate that the pre - lyophilization freezing yielded an acceptable dissolution characteristic for the heparin - trehalose composition , but not for the heparin - mannitol composition . as a result , a second pre - lyophilization freezing method was tested for the heparin - mannitol formulation , which included freezing the liquid solution of the heparin - mannitol formulation on dry ice in an insulated chamber . it was observed that the rate of freezing was much quicker than freezing the formulation on the lyophilizer shelf . an x - ray powder diffraction and crystallinity of the heparin - mannitol compositions ( lyophilizer shelf freezing and dry ice freezing ) resulted in the heparin - mannitol composition frozen by the dry ice method with a greater percentage of crystallinity . in some instances the pre - lyophilization freezing temperature is at least − 70 ° c . in particular , the heparin - mannitol composition prepared by freezing the formulation on the lyophilizer shelf resulted in about 70 % crystalline to 29 % amorphous , while the heparin - mannitol composition prepared by freezing the heparin - mannitol composition using dry ice resulted in about 78 % crystalline to 22 % amorphous . the subsequent dissolution test yielded an instantaneous dissolution of the heparin - mannitol composition that underwent a lower temperature of pre - lyophilization solidification using dry ice . the stability of the heparin activity post - sterilization was also analyzed for the heparin - bulking agent compositions . in this analysis , both compositions were subjected to 40 kgy using both gamma and e - beam methods . accelerated shelf life following astm f1980 at a conditioning temperature of 55 ° c ., which uses the q10 = 2 ( which means that for every 10 ° c . rise in temperature , the rate of chemical reactions generally doubles ) was conducted for a simulated four years . there was no statistical difference between pre - sterile and post sterile using both gamma and e - beam . results provided in table 9 ( heparin - mannitol composition ) and table 10 ( heparin - trehalose composition ) are reported in international units of heparin / mg using the anti - factor iia assay method . table 10 stability of heparin activity post - sterilization : heparin - trehalose composition lyophilized heparin with trehalose bulking agent electron beam gamma test 1 test 2 avg . test 1 test 2 avg . pre - sterile 41 . 4 41 . 1 41 . 3 41 . 4 41 . 1 41 . 3 t = 0 42 . 1 41 . 4 41 . 8 39 . 2 41 . 4 40 . 3 t = 1 42 . 2 41 . 6 41 . 9 41 . 8 41 . 6 41 . 7 t = 2 41 . 4 41 . 2 41 . 3 43 . 4 43 . 0 43 . 2 t = 3 41 . 2 41 . 7 41 . 5 40 . 9 41 . 4 41 . 2 t = 4 42 . 0 41 . 9 41 . 9 41 . 8 42 . 2 42 . 0 these results demonstrate that there is no significant change in the reactivity of the anti - coagulants having either a mannitol bulking agent or a trehalose bulking agent over the simulated time period of 4 years . the particle size distributions of the powdered heparin - mannitol composition and the powdered heparin - trehalose composition were also determined , the particle size distribution values summarized in table 11 . as provided by the data in table 8 , the heparin - mannitol composition was capable of being ground such that at least 90 % of the particulates were less than about 280 microns , the median value was about 90 microns to about 105 microns , and at least 10 % of the particulates were less than about 20 μm . similarly , the heparin - trehalose composition was capable of being ground such that at least 90 % of the particulates were less than about 390 microns , the median value was about 120 microns to about 160 microns , and at least 10 % of the particulates were less than about 40 μm . further , the range between the x 10 and the x 90 values was relatively narrow being less than about 270 microns for the heparin - mannitol composition and less than about 350 microns for the heparin - trehalose composition . one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the heparin - bulking agent compositions can be ground using various different grinding processes with desired particle sizes and / or particle size ranges being achieved . fig9 is an sem image at 520 × of a sample of the powdered heparin - mannitol composition after the milling process to form a free - flowing powder , with the bar scale being 230 microns . fig1 is an sem image at 475 × of a sample of the heparin - trehalose composition after the milling process to form a free - flowing powder , with the bar scale being 250 microns . the bulk density and the tapped density of the powdered heparin - mannitol composition and the powdered heparin - trehalose composition were also determined , the bulk density being the powder in the virgin state as poured while the tapped density measuring the density of the powder after 500 and 750 drops or taps to determine the settling and packing characteristics . the tapped density is a simulation of the change in density of the powdered anti - coagulant compositions from normal movement and settling . the bulk density and tapped density of the heparin - bulking agent compositions are summarized in table 12 . these results demonstrate that the powdered heparin - mannitol composition only had a 20 % change in density from the bulk density to the tapped density after 500 taps . the powdered heparin - trehalose composition is almost twice as dense as the powdered heparin - mannitol composition , and the powdered heparin - trehalose composition continued to pack even after 750 taps . the fillability of the powdered heparin - mannitol composition and heparin - trehalose composition were also tested using a hand volumetric powder filler manufactured by m & amp ;) perry in corona , calif . both the powdered heparin - mannitol composition and the heparin - trehalose composition were free - flowing such that the powders filled easily and accurately . the fillability of the powdered heparin - trehalose composition was most effective at environments having less than about 5 % relative humidity , where the composition absorbed minimal amounts of moisture . while the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms , specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail . it is understood , however , that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described . on the contrary , the intention is to cover all modifications , equivalents , and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .
a free - flowing anti - coagulant powder composition , the anti - coagulant composition containing heparin and a bulking agent that is lyophilized or spray dried and ground into a powder . the powdered anti - coagulant composition can be dry filled into syringes and other blood collections systems for rapid dissolution and mixing with collected blood sample without agitation of the container . the formulation may also retain a portion of the initial moisture , which may improve the shelf life and stability of the composition .