Analysis of total and transferrin-bound iron in human serum for pharmacokinetic studies of iron–sucrose formulations

Abstract

Background:Patients with iron-deficiency anemia benefit from intravenous iron therapies. Development of these pharmaceutical agents requires pharmacokinetic studies monitoring levels of both the administered agent and transferrin-bound iron (TBI). Successful pharmacokinetic methods must discriminate iron species. Results: Routine colorimetric procedures were used to reliably measure total iron and TBI following iron–sucrose administration. Iron was liberated from iron–sucrose allowing the determination of all circulating iron. Solid-phase sample processing allowed the measurement of TBI. Circulating iron–sucrose could then be calculated as the difference between total iron and TBI. Conclusion: A reproducible and robust spectrophotometric method was developed and validated for measuring total iron and TBI in human serum following iron–sucrose therapy.