What is the current reference method for triglycerides?

What is the current reference method for triglycerides?

• A. GC-MS
• B. Colorimetric-Spectrophotometric
• C. Fluorometric method
• D. Turbidimetric method

Answer: (A)

For triglycerides, the reference method is an enzymatic colorimetric assay that measures the glycerol released from triglycerides. Triglycerides are hydrolyzed by lipase to glycerol and fatty acids, then the glycerol is converted by glycerol kinase to glycerol-3-phosphate, which is oxidized by glycerol-3-phosphate oxidase to produce hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide reacts with a chromogenic substrate in a peroxidase-catalyzed reaction to form a colored product read spectrophotometrically. A glycerol blank correction is used to remove interference from any glycerol already present in the sample. This approach is standardized as the reference measurement procedure (IFCC), ensuring accuracy and comparability across labs. GC-MS can quantify triglyceride-derived components in research settings, but its complexity, time, and need for derivatization make it impractical as the routine reference method for clinical triglyceride measurement. The other methods are variations of detection strategies, but the enzymatic colorimetric approach with glycerol correction remains the established reference.

For triglycerides, the reference method is an enzymatic colorimetric assay that measures the glycerol released from triglycerides. Triglycerides are hydrolyzed by lipase to glycerol and fatty acids, then the glycerol is converted by glycerol kinase to glycerol-3-phosphate, which is oxidized by glycerol-3-phosphate oxidase to produce hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide reacts with a chromogenic substrate in a peroxidase-catalyzed reaction to form a colored product read spectrophotometrically. A glycerol blank correction is used to remove interference from any glycerol already present in the sample. This approach is standardized as the reference measurement procedure (IFCC), ensuring accuracy and comparability across labs.

GC-MS can quantify triglyceride-derived components in research settings, but its complexity, time, and need for derivatization make it impractical as the routine reference method for clinical triglyceride measurement. The other methods are variations of detection strategies, but the enzymatic colorimetric approach with glycerol correction remains the established reference.