An Evaluation of Serum Protein Fractionation Using a Methyl Orange Method for Determination of Albumin.

Fractionations of serum proteins using dye-binding methods have become popular because such methods are simple and can be adapted easily to automated systems of analysis, and the results of analysis performed on normal serums correlate well with results obtained by other methods. However, the good correlations do not necessarily apply when dealing with abnormal serums. Analysis of a selected group of serums revealed in 14% of cases a relatively poor correlation between fractionation by electrophoresis and a method involving dye binding. Methods of protein fractionation involving dye binding are satisfactory for routine use provided the limitations of these methods are recognized.