A semiautomated method for the determination of 11-deoxy-17-oxo-steroids in urine

A semiautomated method is described for the determination of total 11-deoxy-17-oxo-steroids (11-DOOS: androsterone, etiocholanolone plus dehydroepiandrosterone) in urine. Urinary conjugates are manually extracted on a XAD-2 resin, hydrolysed by beta-glucuronidase and "solvolysed" in acid ethyl-acetate according to Burnstein-Lieberman. The free 11-DOOS are extracted automatically with iso-octane and estimated colorimetrically by the Zimmerman reaction in an Auto-Analyzer II system. The method was evaluated by investigation of its precision, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. It was found to be satisfactory for the rapid and reliable screening of large numbers of urine samples.