A micromethod for the determination of serum iron and serum iron-binding capacity.

HE DETERMINATION of serum iron (Si) and serum total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) is increasing in importance as a routine clinical measurement, as well as in ferro-kinetic studies of a research nature. Although investigations in iron metabolism are often most conveniently performed in small laboratory animals, the experimental design of such studies has been cumbersome amId severely limited by the fact that no method has been available for tile analysis of both SI and TIBC in microsamples. A micromethod, allowing serial bleedings and thereby eliminating the necessity of using paired animals, would reduce one source of variability in such experiments. It would also be useful in pediatric medicine. The purpose of the present report is to describe a reliable method for the determination of both SI and TIBC in 400l. serum, using modifications of the Ramsay (1, 2) methods and applied in the Beckman-Spincot ultramicro analytical system.