N-acetylcysteine interference of Trinder-based assays
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 31, 2026
Preparation and In Vivo Use of an Activity-based Probe for N-acylethanolamine Acid Amidase
Published on: November 23, 2016
Jonathan R Genzen1, Joshua J Hunsaker2, Louis S Nelson3
1ARUP Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology, Salt Lake City, UT, 500 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt lake City, UT, 500 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA.
Objectives:
The primary objective of this study was to evaluate potential interference of Trinder-based chemistry assays by N-acetylcysteine (NAC). A secondary objective was to look for evidence of interference in patients treated with NAC for acetaminophen (APAP) overdose.
Design And Methods:
Dilutions of NAC in plasma were tested for interference using the following Roche Diagnostics Trinder-based assays on a cobas 8000 system: enzymatic creatinine (Cr), cholesterol (CHOL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TRIG), and uric acid (UA). Two non-Trinder Roche assays - urea nitrogen (BUN) and glucose (GLUC) - were tested as controls. Sekisui N-geneous® low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reagent was also evaluated. Retrospective chart review of APAP overdose cases over 49months was conducted to look for differences in plasma Cr before and after intravenous (IV) NAC administration.
Results:
NAC concentrations (shown in parentheses) that caused ≥10% inhibition for individual assays were (in order of sensitivity to interference): TRIG (570mg/L)>CHOL (740mg/L)≈Cr (790mg/L)>UA (1100mg/L)>HDL-C (1760mg/L)>LDL-C (2900mg/L). Neither BUN nor GLUC achieved significant inhibition up to 10,000mg/L NAC. Evidence for relatively minor inhibition of Cr was observed in patients after NAC administration.
Conclusions:
NAC inhibition of the assays investigated typically occurs at concentrations higher than expected during IV and oral NAC therapy.
More Related Videos
08:03Protein-tRNA Agarose Gel Retardation Assays for the Analysis of the N6-threonylcarbamoyladenosine TcdA Function
Published on: June 21, 2017
11:56A Rapid and Specific Microplate Assay for the Determination of Intra- and Extracellular Ascorbate in Cultured Cells
Published on: April 11, 2014
Related Concept Videos
01:25Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy: Interference
Spectral interference occurs when signals from other elements or molecules overlap with the analyte signal, falsely elevating or masking the analyte's absorbance. This interference can be corrected using Zeeman,...
01:27Pharmacogenetics of Phase II Enzymes: N-acetyltransferase, Thiopurine S-methyltransferase, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase
01:26EDTA: Auxiliary Complexing Reagents