Serum Uric Acid Estimation Chemical and Enzymatic Methods Compared.

The search for a simple, cheap, and reliable method of serum uric acid estimation has continued ever since the classic thread test of Garrod (1854); for many years Folin's phosphotungstic acid method and its numerous modifications have been employed (Folin, 1930; Brown, 1945; Caraway, 1955; Beale, 1954; Henry, Sobel, and Kim, 1957; Archibald, 1957). While the technique is easy, the method is neither specific nor quantitative, the main pitfalls arising from: (1) Loss of uric acid during protein precipitation; (2) Inclusion of varying amounts of non-urate chromogens in the estimations.