Determination of glycosylated adult and foetal haemoglobins by affinity chromatography.

Estimation of adult glycosylated haemoglobin by affinity chromatography was found to be quick and less dependent on ionic strength, pH and temperature than ion-exchange chromatography. Results obtained by both procedures correlated strongly (r = 0.96) but the range for normal subjects was smaller with the affinity assay. The affinity method correlated equally well with the colorimetric assay (r = 0.95). However, the method did not measure all the glycosylated forms, and only half of the glycosylated species isolated by ion-exchange chromatography was bound to the affinity resin. It also showed that the amount of glycosylated haemoglobin in cord blood is less than in adult blood.