A specific, sensitive, and rapid micromethod for determination of ketone bodies in blood

Abstract

Failure to obtain reproducible results with the ketone body determination method of Greenberg and Lester is reported. The basic principle, the reaction of acetone with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine to form the corresponding hydrazone, provided a possibility for an extremely sensitive and accurate determination of ketone bodies in blood. The method presented, although based on the same principle, is an entirely different, rapid micromethod, highly specific and more sensitive than any hitherto reported. The main difficulty of the method as establish in this paper was overcome by the introduction of a microdistillation. Quantitative yields of acetone and acetoacetic acid as well as of ([beta]-hydroxybutyric acid are obtained.