We determine serum cortisol by a homogeneous enzyme immunoassay in the Cobas Bio centrifugal analyzer. To unbind cortisol from its protein complex, serum is treated for 15 min with an acidic solution. The reaction then proceeds automatically in the analyzer at 37 degrees C. To 50 microL of sample mixture is added 125 microL of reagent (cortisol antibodies, glucose 6-phosphate, and NAD+). This mixture is incubated for 60 s, after which 25 microL of a cortisol derivative labeled with glucose 6-phosphate is added; the increase in absorbance is monitored at 340 nm. The standard curve was linear from 10 to 500 micrograms of cortisol per liter. Within-assay precision (CV) varied from 0.2 to 0.6%, between-assay precision from 6.2 to 10.6%. Analytical recovery ranged from 100 to 103%. Results for control samples deviated from target values by 1.4 to 7.8%. Results compared well with those by radioimmunoassay. The method is reliable and practicable and will usefully replace previous routine methods for serum cortisol.

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