Atomic absorption determination of serum copper: collaborative study

Preliminary to conducting a collaborative study on a method for copper in serum, methods used by a selected group of laboratories were surveyed. The responding laboratories were supplied with a Youden pair of bovine serum samples and requested to use their current method for serum copper. Results of the analyses and the methods used were evaluated; hypotheses were developed in our laboratory to explain some of the interlaboratory variation. For the AAS method chosen, each of 12 collaborating laboratories analyzed one blind duplicate and 2 Youden pair of serum samples. A commercially available external control serum with a certified level of copper and a 1000 mg copper/L standard were also submitted. The method requires the serum to be diluted 1 + 1 with distilled water and the standards to be diluted with 10% glycerin to approximate the viscosity of the diluted serum. The intralaboratory coefficients of variation (CV) ranged from 2.24 to 4.40% and the interlaboratory CV ranged from 2.56% to 6.05%. The method has been adopted official first action.