Determination of L-carnitine in serum, and implementation on the ABA-100 and CentrifiChem 600

Deproteinization of serum samples by heating to 100 degrees C, then freezing, allows up to 60% of the volume of the sample to be recovered. Concentrations of L-carnitine in samples so treated are comparable with those obtained by more sophisticated and expensive methods, and precision and accuracy are similar to those of other available techniques. There is no medically significant difference between results obtained in the ABA-100 and CentrifiChem 600, and the method is suitable for screening studies. Concentrations in the serum of presumably healthy adults ranged from 29.3 to 66.1 mumol/L. As little as 3 mumol of L-carnitine per liter can be determined.