Cholesterol determination in high-density lipoproteins separated by three different methods.

We describe a simplified method for measuring high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in serum after very-low- and low-density lipoproteins have been precipitated from the specimen with sodium phosphotungstate and Mg2+. Values so obtained correlate well with values obtained with the heparin-Mn2+ precipitation technique (r = 0.95, CV less than 5% in 66% of the subjects studied and between 5 and 10% in the remaining ones) or by ultracentrifugal separation (r = 0.82, CV less than 5% in 80% of the subjects studied and between 5 and 10% in the remaining ones). Our precipitation technique is more appropriate for routine clinical laboratory use.