Enzymatic assay of cholesterol by reaction rate measurements.

A dynamic method for free and total cholesterol assay based on the oxidation of cholesterol by cholesterol oxidase, and conversion of cholesteryl oleate to cholesterol by cholesterol esterase is discussed in this article. The reaction conditions for total cholesterol assay were a temperature of 310 K and pH of 7.4. For conversion of cholesteryl oleate to cholesterol, the samples were incubated with 0.6 unit/mL of cholesterol esterase and 0.02 g/mL of taurocholate. The determination of initial reaction rates in the oxidation of free cholesterol, which is directly related to the cholesterol concentration, was found to be rapid, reliable, and inexpensive. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 53: 391-396, 1997.