Determination of proteins in blood. Part 1: Determination of total protein and albumin

Abstract

The review presents a chronological development of procedures for determining the concentrations of total protein and albumin; total concentration of globulins; concentrations of subfractions, classes, and subclasses of globulins; and total concentrations of globulin subclasses in human blood. A brief overview of these procedures and the results of their comparative tests in medical examination of patients are given. The considered procedures are systematized; their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. It is noted that procedures for measuring the concentration of total protein, albumin, and globulin classes in plasma, serum, and whole blood are widely used in modern clinical diagnostic laboratories when performing routine assays. The concentrations of globulin subclasses and total concentrations of globulin subclasses in blood are mainly determined in biomedical research. Procedures for measuring the concentration of total globulins and globulin subfractions in plasma and serum are of historical importance and now are barely applied in clinical and diagnostic laboratories.