Determination of Plasma Cortisol by a Fluorometric Method

Abstract

The method of Van der Vies (5) for the determination of plasma cortisol has been investigated and found to be a reliable method for routine clinical purposes. This method does not involve chromatography, and a trained technician can obtain a result within 5 hr, taking the fluorescence reading 10 min after adding the reagent and omitting the preliminary light petroleum washing of the plasma. Under these conditions the normal plasma cortisol level at 8 am is 14.6 ± 3.7 μg/100 ml.