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Measuring the 50% Haemolytic Complement (CH50) Activity of Serum
Published on: March 29, 2010
Problems with measurements caused by high concentrations of serum solids
Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences
|January 1, 1987
Summary
Elevated blood lipids like triglycerides cause inaccurate lab results due to optical issues and volume errors. Current methods partially address lipemia, but accurate high-lipid sample analysis remains a challenge.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Chemistry
- Analytical Biochemistry
Background:
- Elevated blood lipid levels (lipemia) frequently cause analytical interferences.
- Triglycerides are the primary lipids responsible for turbidity and volume measurement errors in laboratory samples.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the analytical problems associated with lipemia.
- To review existing and novel methods for managing lipemic samples.
Main Methods:
- Review of established lipemia-clearing techniques: ultracentrifugation, solvent extraction, chemical precipitation.
- Discussion of recent advancements, including enzymatic hydrolysis.
- Evaluation of mathematical correction methods for volume errors.
Main Results:
- Lipid clearing methods address optical aberrations but not volume dilution errors.
- Enzymatic hydrolysis effectively removes turbidity.
- Mathematical corrections for volume errors are empirical and less accurate at high lipid concentrations.
Conclusions:
- Lipemia presents significant challenges in accurate spectrophotometric and volume measurements.
- While several methods exist to mitigate lipemia's effects, a comprehensive solution for both optical and volume errors, especially at high lipid levels, is still needed.
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