Typing and subtyping of haptoglobin from native serum using disc gel electrophoresis in alkaline buffer: application to routine screening.

A method with which the six common phenotypes of human haptoglobin can be identified using unseparated serum is described. In contrast to other reported methods, both typing and subtyping of haptoglobin can be performed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in alkaline buffer using 0.1-4.0 microliter of native serum with hemoglobin added. Haptoglobin-hemoglobin complexes are visualized by their peroxidase activity using benzidine and barium peroxide. This relatively inexpensive and fast method seems particularly well suited for the typing and subtyping of haptoglobin from minute amounts in large series of sera and other body fluids and thus may be useful in medical genetics and forensic medicine.