Evaluation of the Kodak Ektachem slide assays for iron and lactate

We evaluated the analytical performance of two clinical chemistry slides developed recently by Eastman Kodak Company for the analysis of lactate and iron with the Kodak Ektachem 700 XR analyzer. Tested with supplemented serum pool materials we found imprecisions of the lactate analysis between 0.7% and 1.3% (within-run), resp., 1.0% and 1.5% (between-run). The imprecision of the iron analysis was between 1.0% and 2.2%, resp., 1.2% and 2.7%. Linearity of the methods was proven between 0.7 mmol/L and 13.0 mmol/L (lactate analysis) and between 5.4 mumol/L and 82.4 mummol/L (iron analysis), respectively. We found no significant interferences by hemolysis, lipemia, or bilirubin. The Kodak lactate results (x) correlated well with those of enzymatic methods (y) of Boehringer Mannheim (r = 0.995; y = 1.095x - 0.128) and of DuPont (r = 0.990; y = 1.015x - 0.242). The Kodak iron analysis (x) was correlated with the FerroZine methods (y) of Boehringer Mannheim (r = 0.988; y = 0.868x + 1.111), Hoffman LaRoche (r = 0.989; y = 0.868x + 3.416). and with atomic absorption (y) (r = 0.960; y = 0.826x + 3.416). We conclude that the newly developed methods for the analysis of lactate and iron with the Kodak Ektachem analyzer are acceptable alternatives to other common methods.