Isotope dilution mass spectrometry of cholesterol in serum

Isotope dilution mass spectrometry is one of the best candidates for reference and definitive methods for the quantitative measurement of organic compounds. In this study sources of error were investigated. Where possible they were removed, and commercially available equipment had to be modified. The method was applied to the measurement of serum cholesterol. The precision is optimized and in the order of 0.5%. The mean of the recoveries of three measurements is 99.8%. The accuracy of the mean of three measurements is 0.2% if no interferences are present in the gas chromatographic mass spectrometric measurements.