Evaluation of three commercially available C-peptide kits

Three commercially available methods for the determination of C-peptide in human serum were evaluated. All kits were found to be acceptable with respect to precision and analytical recovery, while differences were observed with respect to sensitivity and cross-reactivity to human proinsulin. Furthermore an intermethod comparison was performed. It is pointed out that, before C-peptide determination on serum from insulin-treated diabetic subjects, a PEG precipitation, to remove antibody-bound proinsulin, should be done.