Comparison of carbonate and uricase-carbonate methods for the determination of uric acid in serum.

A colorimetric carbonate procedure for the determination of uric acid has been modified to include incubation of serum with uricase to destroy uric acid. Residual nonurate chromogens are subtracted from total chromogens to obtain the concentration of “true” uric acid. Result obtained by the carbonate and the uricase-carbonate methods were in good agreement. The mean concentration of nonurate chromogens in serum is approximately 2% of the true uric acid values. Recovery of uric acid added to serum is essentially quantitative. Formaldehyde markedly inhibits uricase activity and interferes with recoveries. The uricase-carbonate method is applicable to hemolytic serum and to serums from patients with uremia or those receiving high doses of salicylate in which excess concentrations of nonurate chromogens may be encountered.