Evaluation of the dual-precipitation method by comparison with the ultracentrifugation method for measurement of lipoproteins in serum.

We evaluated the dual-precipitation method for quantitative measurement of lipoproteins as described by Wilson and Spiger [J. Lab. Clin. Med. 82, 473 (1973)] for normo- and hyperlipemic sera, by comparison with the results obtained with ultracentrifugation. If serum with an above-normal triglyceride concentration is analyzed, the very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol value obtained with the precipitation method is usually too low. For measurement of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol the ultracentrifugation and precipitation procedures give comparable results, but the latter method is preferred because sinking pre-beta-lipoproteins present in the high-density lipoprotein fraction isolated by means of the ultracentrifuge may result in falsely high values for cholesterol in that fraction. Therefore, at least for the determination of very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in hyperlipemic serum, the use of an ultracentrifuge remains necessary. Because few laboratories have an ultracentrifuge at their disposal, it seemed important to look at the stability of sera in view of the forwarding of samples. Also, a way of increasing the efficiency of the ultracentrifuge was studied. Sera can be stored for a week at 4 degrees C or for 54 h at room temperature without noticeable effect on lipoprotein values. Moreover, reliable values can be obtained with an ultracentrifugation time of 8 h (0.8 X 10(8) g-min).