Fluorometric determination of serum albumin—Potentials and limitations

Time-resolved Chemiluminescence Technique for the Microdetermination of Proteins Based on Their Complexation with Copper(II)

Based on the complexation between proteins and Cu(II) coupled with the time-resolved chemiluminescence (CL) technique, a highly sensitive and quantitative assay for measuring proteins in solution is described. The complexes of proteins with Cu(II) have a strongly catalytic effect on the luminol-H2O2 CL reaction. Because the CL emission produced by the complexes is much more long-lived than that by Cu(II), the CL signals originating from proteins can be easily identified and measured with a time-resolved technique. On this basis, bovine albumin fraction V (BAF V) can be quantitatively determined in the range of 0.01 - 5.0 microg/ml with a detection limit of 5.8 ng/ml. The results show that the proposed assay exhibits a small variation in the response values for the same amount of different proteins, as compared to the Lowry as well as Bradford assays. The CL assay has also been studied for the detection of immobilized proteins.

Flow-injection determination of proteins using enhanced peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence applied to the determination of immunoglobin G and albumin in serum

The intensity of the chemiluminescence (CL) signal from an aqueous peroxyoxalate CL reaction can be significantly enhanced in the presence of various proteins with hydrophobic sites. A flow-injection measurement for various hydrophobic proteins based on this CL enhancement was developed. The enhancement is due to the inclusion of the CL species in the favorable environment provided by the protein's hydrophobicity, which results in efficient light production. Various protein structures were evaluated; the degree of enhancement depends on the protein structure and CL reaction conditions. The CL enhancement measurement in the flow-injection system is made after the introduction of the protein solution to the main phosphate buffer stream followed by the addition of the CL reagent streams: (1) hydrogen peroxide in water and (2) 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonic acid and 4,4'-oxalylbis-(trifluoromethylsulfonylimino)ethylene bis(4-methyl morpholinium trifluoromethane sulfonate) in acetonitrile. Although prior separation of proteins is required before the measurement, the advantage of this approach is increased sensitivity without derivatization of the protein. The enhancement was demonstrated for several proteins, including antibodies, which suggests that this approach may be generally applicable to a variety of measurements, including immunoassay determinations. This CL enhancement was used to develop a simple and accurate flow-injection measurement for the determination of albumin and IgG in human serum.

Dynamics of glomerular ultrafiltration in Amphiuma means

To study renal function in Amphiuma means, the hydrostatic pressures in vascular and tubular structures and the glomerular filtration rate were determined at different arterial blood pressures. In the arterial blood pressure range studied no evidence of autoregulation of the glomerular capillary pressure of the hydrostatic pressure gradient over the capillary membrane was found. The glomerular filtration ceases at an arterial blood pressure below 12 cm H2O. No significant difference between tubular free flow pressure and peritubular capillary pressure was noted. Furthermore, it was found that the glomerular capillary pressure could be estimated by measuring the intratubular stop-flow pressure and arterial colloid osmotic pressure at an arterial pressure above 15 cm H2O. It was also found possible to measure the glomerular capillary pressure at the very end of the afferent arteriole. The protein concentrations in afferent and efferent arteriolar blood were determined and the colloid osmotic pressures were calculated according to a new formula derived for Amphiuma plasma. The dynamics of glomerular ultrafiltration was evaluated. A filtration equilibrium across the glomerular membrane was reached, since the efferent colloid osmotic pressure was not significantly different from the hydrostatic pressure gradient across the glomerular capillary membrane.