Measurement of acetol in serum.

A method for the derivatization of acetol (1-hydroxyacetone) with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) and for the measurement of the acetol dinitrophenylhydrazone derivative (acetol-DNPH) by high-performance liquid chromatography is presented. The chromatographic separation described here resulted in baseline resolution of the acetol-DNPH peak. Peak integration was proportional to serum acetol concentration over a 5- to 500-nmol/ml range. No other method for the determination of acetol in serum currently exists. Serum from rats in diabetic ketoacidosis was found to contain 11.2 +/- 1.1 nmol acetol/ml serum (N = 3). Serum from a 21-day-fasted human contained 16 nmol/ml acetol. Serum from rats maintained on drinking water containing 1% acetone (v:v) for 6 days contained 152 +/- 31 nmol/ml acetol (N = 5). The presence of acetol in serum under conditions where acetoacetate and acetone are chronically elevated suggests that acetoacetate may be converted to glucose through the conversion of acetone to acetol and L-1,2-propanediol.