The determination of thyroxine and thyroxine uptake with new homogeneous enzyme immunoassays using Boehringer Mannheim/Hitachi analysis systems.

New homogeneous enzyme immunoassays for the determination of thyroxine and thyroxine uptake have been developed. The CEDIA assays are based on the cloned enzyme donor immunoassay technology, which involves fragments of beta-galactosidase prepared by genetic engineering. The assays have been adapted for Boehringer Mannheim/Hitachi analysers. The CEDIA T4/T Uptake assays were evaluated in eleven clinical chemistry laboratories on various Boehringer Mannheim/Hitachi analysis systems, using a 2-point calibration. The analytical range of the T4 test was 10 to 258 nmol/l thyroxine. The T uptake test had a measuring range between 20-50%. Depending on the concentration of the analyte (samples from hypo-, eu- or hyperthyroid patients), mean coefficients of variation ranged from 1.8 to 4.8% within-run and from 4.1 to 6.5% between-run for the T4 assay. Even better coefficients of variation were obtained for the T uptake assay (1.4 to 2.3% within-run, 2.8 to 3.3% between run). The relative inaccuracy of the CEDIA assays with respect to values assigned by other tests was satisfactory in various control sera. The T4 assay was compared with one radioimmunoassay, one enzyme immunoassay and one fluorescence polarisation immunoassay. Slopes ranging from 0.9 to 1.1 and intercepts ranging from -10 to +10 nmol/l thyroxine were obtained with two exceptions. The results of the T uptake test correlated reasonably with those of other thyroxine-binding methods. No interference was observed with icteric and lipaemic sera. Haemoglobin up to 4 g/l had no significant influence. Results of the CEDIA T Uptake test are mainly used for calculation of the free thyroxine index, in which the thyroxine value is corrected for variations of thyroxine-binding protein concentrations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)