Folate assays--an alternative to microbiological assays and commercial kits.

A simple and reliable folate radioassay technique based on the principles of classic folate radioassays but incorporating several of the recently introduced technical innovations is presented as an alternative to the microbiological assays and commercial kits. Serum and red cell folate values from this method were compared with results from two commercial kits and a Lactobacillus casei (L. casei) assay. There was a good correlation with the L. casei assay for both serum and red cell folate (r = 0.95). The method uses N-methyltetrahydrofolate standards diluted in folate free serum, beta-lactoglobulin as a binder and an alkaline denaturation ('no-boil') of endogenous folate binding proteins. Low hematocrit lysates were best performed at a 1 in 10 rather than 1 in 20 dilution. A comparison of the boil and 'no-boil' kits from Diagnostic Products Corporation revealed that the 'no-boil' kit produced results closer to those obtained from the L. casei assay than the boil kit.