Functional determination of C1 esterase inhibitor in fractions derived from plasma

A traditional esterolytic assay, a commercial chromogenic assay and an in-house chromogenic assay were compared for suitability in estimating C 1 esterase inhibitor (C 1 INH) activity in plasma and fractions obtained during preparation of a clinical concentrate of C 1 INH. The esterolytic and both of the chromogenic assays showed similar C 1 INH activity in unfractionated plasma samples. However, the esterolytic assay was significantly influenced by the buffer pH and concentration in fractionated plasma samples, and this often resulted in a significant overestimation of C 1 INH in some fractions. Similarly, the commercial C 1 INH assay kit did not always reliably estimate C 1 INH activity in fractions derived from plasma. A modified in-house functional assay was found to be more reliable in measuring C 1 INH in fractionated plasma samples. There was a good correlation between this activity assay and immunological assay estimates of C 1 INH in fractions derived from plasma.