A Rapid Method for Cholesterol Determination with a Single Reagent.

published a modification of Pearson’s method, in which a mixture of all the reagents was added at once. In our laboratory, we introduced a method which also requires only a single reagent. The density of the green color (Lieberman-Burchard reaction) is read in the Klett-Summerson photocolorimeter, using a 600-rn/A filter. In the normal range (140-280 mg./100 ml.), the values obtained with the new method are nearly identical with those obtained by the original method of Pearson and its modification by Rappaport. If the serum is icteric, 5 mg./100 ml. cholesterol are subtracted for 1 mg./100 ml. bilirubin (3,4). This correction is necessary as bilirubiri forms a green color with the reagent. With different concentrations of standards the Beer-Lambert law is observed up to levels of 750 mg./ 100 ml. cholesterol.