Skip to main content
Journal of Clinical Pathology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Pathology
. 1961 Jul;14(4):425–430. doi: 10.1136/jcp.14.4.425

The use of tetramethylammonium hydroxide in the Zimmermann reaction

V H T James 1, Mary De Jong 1,1
PMCID: PMC480248  PMID: 13789329

Abstract

The use of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (T.M.A.H.) in place of potassium hydroxide in the Zimmermann reaction has been investigated. Although various pure steroids have different colour equivalents, a comparison of the results of 17-ketosteroid and 17-hydroxycorticosteroid estimations on a series of urines showed that the differences for the two reagents were only small and may be ignored. Tetramethylammonium hydroxide has the considerable advantage over potassium hydroxide of stability and need not be prepared freshly. The correction procedures available are discussed.

Full text

PDF
427

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. APPLEBY J. I., GIBSON G., NORYMBERSKI J. K., STUBBS R. D. Indirect analysis of corticosteroids. I. The determination of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids. Biochem J. 1955 Jul;60(3):453–460. doi: 10.1042/bj0600453. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BONGIOVANNI A. M., EBERLEIN W. R., THOMAS P. Z. Use of an organic base in the Zimmermann reaction. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1957 Feb;17(2):331–332. doi: 10.1210/jcem-17-2-331. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. BRAUNSBERG H. An examination of the Allen colour correction in steroid determinations. Acta Endocrinol (Copenh) 1957 Dec;26(4):443–449. doi: 10.1530/acta.0.0260443. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Callow N. H., Callow R. K., Emmens C. W. Colorimetric determination of substances containing the grouping -CH(2).CO- in urine extracts as an indication of androgen content. Biochem J. 1938 Aug;32(8):1312–1331. doi: 10.1042/bj0321312. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. DREKTER I. J., HEISLER A., SCISM G. R., STERN S., PEARSON S., McGAVACK T. H. The determination of urinary steroids. I. The preparation of pigment-free extracts and a simplified procedure for the estimation of total 17-ketosteroids. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1952 Jan;12(1):55–65. doi: 10.1210/jcem-12-1-55. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. GLENN J. H. A method for the estimation of total and split fat in faces. J Med Lab Technol. 1959 Apr;16:159–160. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. HENRY R., THEVENET M. Dosage des 17 céto-stéroides neutres totaux; étude de la réaction de Zimmermann Cahen et Salter mise au point d'une technique rapide. Bull Soc Chim Biol (Paris) 1951;33(10):1617–1634. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. JAMES V. H. The excretion of individual 17-ketosteroids by normal females. J Endocrinol. 1961 Apr;22:195–205. doi: 10.1677/joe.0.0220195. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. MASUDA M., THULINE H. C. An improved method for determination of urinary 17-ketosteroids. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1953 May;13(5):581–586. doi: 10.1210/jcem-13-5-581. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. O'SULLIVAN D. G. An extension of the Allen colour-correction process and its application to determinations on steroid fractions. Acta Endocrinol (Copenh) 1958 Aug;28(4):459–466. doi: 10.1530/acta.0.0280459. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. WILSON H. Chromogenic values of various ketosteroids in a micro modification of the Zimmermann reaction: comparison with the macro procedure. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1954 Sep;52(1):217–235. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(54)90105-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Pathology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES