Simultanmethode für die Bestimmung von Kupfer und Eisen im Serum

Abstract

for the simultaneous determination of copper and iron in serumIn most laboratories, copper and iron are determined in serum by a manual photometric method. Since the clinical laboratory is often asked for both of these parameters together, the present work describes the simultaneous measurement of copper and iron in one sample with a standard 2-channel Auto-Analyser. This procedure has the following advantages over the manual method: simple operation with reagents that can be prepared in the laboratory; 30-35 analyses per hour; the use of dialysis results in low interference by haemolytic, icteric or lipaemic sera; avoidance of crude errors that may result from contaminated pipettes, centrifuge tubes, test tubes and cuvettes. The suitability of the method was tested thoroughly for a period of six months. The method is highly specific and the sensitivity is adequate. The determination of copper gave a repeatability of 2.8% (var. coeff.) and a recovery of 99.7%. The precision was 5-6% for copper and 9-10% for iron, while the measured values of both parameters varied by only 1-2% from the true values of a control serum. The method is therefore unreservedly recommended for use in the clinical chemical laboratory.