Hemoglobin determined in 15 microL of whole blood by "front-face" fluorometry.

Abstract

Abstract We describe the rapid, inexpensive fluorometry of hemoglobin in undiluted whole blood. The procedure consists only of adding a standard quantity of a fluorescent dye to a measured volume (approximately 15 microL) of blood, together with some solubilizing detergent. The assay is based on the attenuation of the dye's fluorescence (excited within the region 400—440 nm) that results from the competitive absorption of exciting light by the hemoglobin present—the "inner filter effect." The wavelength that one can use is optional and will determine which dyes can be used. Measurements are made with the hematofluorometer, a "front-face" filter fluorometer (Blumberg et al., J. Lab. Clin. Med. 89: 712—723, 1977). We demonstrate the validity of the method for two dyes, rhodamine B and fluorescein dibutyrate, which we used with hematofluorometers that were designed to determine blood zinc protoporphyrin and bilirubin, respectively. Our method exhibited a standard error of about 4 g of hemoglobin per liter vs the comparison method (Coulter Counter method, for which the CV is 1.2%). The CV is about 3%. The method seems appropriate for "field" use (i.e., use outside the laboratory) in anemia-screening programs.