Methods for the estimation of serum magnesium in clinical laboratories

A variety of methods have been reported for the quantitative analysis of magnesium in serum and other biological fluids. The methods may be classified into the following groups: magnesium ammonium phosphate; 8-hydroxyquinoline; titan yellow; dihydroxyazobenzene using fluorimetry; Schwarzenbach ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; atomic emission spectrophotometry; atomic absorption spectrophotometry; ion chromatography, and carboxanilide, calmagite and related dye methods. These methods are reviewed with specific emphasis on the limitations for their use in clinical laboratories.