A New Procedure for the Extraction of Unconjugated Steroids from Plasma and Urine

Abstract

A procedure is described for the extraction of nanogram quantities of steroids from plasma and urine. The method involves saturation of a diluted plasma or urine sample with ammonium carbonate and extraction with an organic solvent. The application of this method to the analysis of cortisol and unconjugated estriol in plasma and to the analysis of unconjugated steroids in the urine of the newborn infant is described.