A rapid microchromatographic method for determination of hemoglobin AI.

Hemoglobin AI (HbAI) is a minor hemoglobin fraction, which is continuously formed by a glycosylation reaction throughout the life-span of the erythrocyte. The concentration of HbAI reflects the average blood glucose level during the preceding 1 - 2 months and HbAI-determinations have been found to be of value in long-term diabetes control. A simple and reliable microchromatographic method for HbAI-determinations, suitable for routine clinical analyses, is described. In a group of diabetic patients (n = 126) the mean (+ S.D.) S.D.) HbAI--value was 9.6 + 1.8%, in the reference group (n = 33) the corresponding value was 6.0 + 0.8%. A commercial kit (Bio-Rad) based on the same principle was compared with our method. It was of equal accuracy and gave comparable results.