Preparation of autologous I-131-albumin for metabolic studies in man.

Abstract

Human albumin has been prepared from fresh serum taken from human subjects, by salt fractionation and filtration, and further purified by step wise elution from DEAE cellulose. Both preparations average better than 95 per cent albumin, with the remainder consisting malnly of alpha-1 globulin. After labeling with I/sup 131/ by a modification of McFarlane's method, by both paper and starch electrophoresis, at least 95 per cent of the I/sup 131/ ran with albumin, and DEAE elution chromatograms showed almost identical distribution of I/ sup 131/-albumin and native albumin. Studies with these preparations in the donors of the albumin gave an average catabolic rate of 0.142 gm per kilogram body weight per day, which compares favorably with most previous studies. No significant difference was observed in the results obtained with I/sup 131/- primary albumin and I/sup 131/-fractionated albumin. The use of autologous I/sup 131/albumin avoids the risk of transmitting virus and the need for heat treatment. (auth)