participated in the conception and design of the study

participated in the conception and design of the study. participants while causing more effort for the collector. Tear flow rates as well as the relative and absolute amount of IgG were higher when Schirmer strips were used. Consecutive collections with Schirmer strips significantly influenced tear flow rates, IgG, and protein concentrations. A moderate correlation was observed between tear flow rates and IgG concentrations for both methods. Samples collected with both methods can be analyzed by isoelectric focusing, a potential diagnostic application in the field of neurology. The specific advantages and limitations of tear fluid sampling with either capillary tubes or Schirmer strips demonstrate the need for a thorough investigation of collection methods TC-A-2317 HCl with regard to the application of interest. value0.250.430.260.0080.010.02 Open in a separate window Tear fluid samples were collected TC-A-2317 HCl with capillary tubes and Schirmer strips first from one eye (side I) followed by TC-A-2317 HCl the other eye (side II). Results were compared to investigate a potential influence of the Tmem9 collection sequence. Values are displayed as median and interquartile range (IQR). values were calculated using the two-tailed Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test, significant for (positive or negative) in the following manner: 0.0??values? ?0.05 were considered significant. The 95% confidence intervals (CI) helped to assess the strength of a potential linear relationship40. Supplementary Information Supplementary Information.(1.5M, pdf) Acknowledgements We thank all volunteers for their participation in the study. We thank the coworkers of the laboratory for CSF diagnostics and clinical neurochemistry, Ulm, Germany, for excellent technical support. TC-A-2317 HCl Author contributions F.B. and H.T. participated in the conception and design of the study. F.B., A.H., M.S. and H.T. participated in the acquisition and statistical analysis of the data. F.B. drafted the manuscript. M.S., A.H., H.T. reviewed the manuscript for intellectual content. All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission. Funding Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This project was in part supported by Merck Serono GmbH and the Chemische Fabrik Karl Bucher GmbH. Data availability All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its Supplementary Information files. Competing interests The funding organizations played no role in TC-A-2317 HCl the study design; in the collection; analysis; and interpretation of data; the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication. FB and AH declare no competing interests. MS has received consulting and/or speaker honoraria from Alexion, Bayer, Biogen, Merck, Roche, and Sanofi Genzyme. She has received travel support from Celgene and TEVA. She has received research funding from the Hertha-Nathorff-Program. HT reports funding for research projects, lectures, and travel from Bayer, Biogen, Genzyme, Merck, Novartis, Roche, Teva, and received research support from DMSG and BMBF. All listed potential competing interests are outside the context of this articles research, authorship, and publication. Footnotes Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-021-89514-8..