Some observations on the kinetics of the Jaffé reaction for creatinine

The Jaffé reaction for creatinine assay appears to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics; first-order rate constants are different for different samples. Rate constants for 10 different serum samples varied from a low value of 0.0040 +/- 0.0003 s-1 to 0.0084 +/- 0.0008 s-1. We describe an approach for determining first-order rate constants from kinetic data and discuss the effects of the above observations on the mathematical formulations required for reliable kinetic determinations of creatinine.