Simple assay for urinary iron after desferrioxamine therapy

Area of Science:

• Clinical Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Desferrioxamine (DF) is used for iron chelation therapy.
• Accurate monitoring of urinary iron excretion is crucial for managing DF therapy effectiveness.
• Existing methods for measuring urinary iron can be time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a simple and rapid method for quantifying urinary iron after desferrioxamine administration.
• To compare the results of the new method with traditional acid digestion techniques.
• To assess the suitability of the method for routine clinical monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Urine samples were treated with a reagent containing thioglycolic, hydrochloric, and trichloroacetic acids to reduce ferrioxamine iron.
• Protein precipitation was ensured by trichloroacetic acid.
• Iron was measured spectrophotometrically using bathophenanthroline sulfonate.

Main Results:

• The developed method provided results comparable to the established acid digestion method.
• The new method is significantly faster than conventional acid digestion.
• Baseline urinary iron excretion may be slightly underestimated with this method.

Conclusions:

• This simple spectrophotometric method is suitable for routine monitoring of desferrioxamine therapy.
• The method offers a faster and practical alternative for clinical laboratories.
• Minor underestimation of baseline iron excretion does not impede therapeutic monitoring.