Microdetermination of Sucrose in Plasma with the Anthrone Reagent.

Quantitative determinations of sucrose in plasma required preliminary protein precipitation with BaOH2 - ZnSO4 or ethyl alcohol followed by centrifugation. Aliquots of the resultant protein-free supernate were then concentrated to dryness at 80 C with a manifold evaporator after which endogenous monosaccharides were destroyed by the addition of 0.1 ml of 30 KOH and heating for 10 min at 100 C. Upon cooling, optimum sucrose-anthrone color development was achieved by the addition of 3.0 ml of anthrone reagent 0.15 anthrone in 75 H2SO4 - 25 H2O mixture, followed by heating at 40 C for 30 minutes, cooling, and the recording of optical density at 625 nm. The reaction followed Beers Law over the range of 10 to 80 micrograms of sucrose. The effectiveness of the procedure in estimating anatomic and physiologic parameters of extracellular space was explored. Author