An improved simple colorimetric method for quantitation of non-transferrin-bound iron in serum.

A simple method for direct quantitation of non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) in serum is introduced. NTBI was separated from serum by adding excess nitrilotriacetic acid disodium salt (NTA) to serum to form an Fe-NTA complex and then ultrafiltrated using a micro-filter. The NTBI in the ultrafiltrate was quantitated using a bathophenanthroline-based method. The optimal detection condition and several potential confounding factors were investigated. The actual measurements to samples in vivo and in vitro showed that this method is very practical.