The turbid specimen as an analytical medium: hemoglobin determination as a model.

The quantitation of chemical constituents in lipemic samples is a major problem confronting the clinical laboratory. Currently, a number of cumbersome and time-consuming methods are used to clarify samples before analysis. However, the use of enzymic hydrolysis of triglycerides along with efficient chemical removal of the formed non-esterified fatty acids is exemplified here as an excellent alternative to the current methods of clarification such as ultracentrifugation, extraction or chemical precipitation of low density and very low density lipoproteins. This method of clarifying milky serum has been used by us to assay hemoglobin in severely lipemic blood samples as an analytical model.