A comparison of dye binding methods for albumin determination: the effects of abnormal sera, reaction times, acute phase reactants and albumin standards.

Four bromcresol green methods were evaluated, three of which were used with a reaction time of 15 seconds. An immunonephelometric assay and a bromcresol purple method were used as comparison methods. The bromcresol purple method agreed well with the more specific immunonephelometric procedure. Forty-seven human sera, thirty with low albumin concentrations and seventeen with high albumin concentrations were used in each assessment. The best bromcresol green methods were those using low dye and surfactant (Brij-35) concentrations and the shortest possible reaction times. Except in one bromcresol green method with a long reaction time of 10 minutes, there was no significant difference in values overall between sera having a low albumin concentration with either raised or normal acute phase reactants. Comparable results were obtained using standards of human and bovine albumin preparations in bromcresol green methods but not in the bromcresol purple method.