Spectrophotometric determination of total proteins in blood plasma with p-benzoquinone

1. In the present study we have documented the use of the reagent, p-benzoquinone (PBQ) for the spectrophotometric determination of total proteins in blood plasma. 2. Since the products of reaction are stable for several hours at room temperature after the 20-min boiling step, the time at which absorbance is measured is not a critical factor. 3. Common anticoagulants such as EDTA, citrate, or heparin do not interfere with the PBQ method at concentrations used in clinical laboratories. 4. The products of the reaction between PBQ and either plasma (specific absorbance 2.33 x 10(-3) +/- 0.20 x 10(-3) micrograms cm-2) or purified proteins (specific absorbance 2.61 x 10(-3) +/- 0.31 x 10(-3) micrograms cm-2) show an absorption band at 350 nm, which follows Beer's law, and therefore can be used for analytical purposes. 5. The PBQ method has a lower limit of detection (4 micrograms/ml) than that of the biuret method (45 micrograms/ml) for a final reaction mixture of 5.0 and 4.2 ml, respectively.