Detection of apoptotic fetal cells in plasma of pregnant women.

other laboratories (6), it makes economic sense to consolidate to one platform that can perform multiple assays without operator intervention. We have extended this method to include measurements of acetyl carnitine (data not shown). In this case, a mixture of labeled carnitines are added to plasma, and concentrations are calculated from calibration curves for free, acetyl, and total carnitine. The measurement of free carnitine, total carnitine, and specific acylcarnitines by TMS without prior derivatization of the analytes is therefore now practicable.