Automated Cobas Mira kinetic enzymatic assay for ethylene glycol applied to emergency situations.

An automated kinetic method for assaying ethylene glycol in serum using glycerol dehydrogenase with the multiparametric analyzer Cobas Mira is described. Initially, 5 microL of sample is mixed with tris-NAD buffer; after enzyme addition, the variation of the absorbance at 340 nm is automatically measured, and the instrument calculates the ethylene glycol concentration of the specimen. The method has good precision and specificity and is suitable for emergency screening. Some applications developed in our laboratory are also described.