TABLE 1.
Reference-method procedures and reference materials available for iron-status assays1
| Reference-method procedures2 | Reference materials | Value assignment3 | |
| Hemoglobin | Cyanmethemoglobin | WHO 98/7084 | Consensus5 |
| Ferritin | None | WHO 94/572 | Consensus |
| Iron | None | NIST SRM 3126a | ICP-OES6 |
| Transferrin | None | IRMM ERM-DA470k/IFCC | Consensus |
| Soluble transferrin receptor | None | WHO 07/202 | Spectrophotometry7 |
ICP-OES, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry; IFCC, International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine; IRMM, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements; NIST, National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Listed by the Joint Committee for Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (13).
Methods that are used to establish the concentration of the reference materials. Consensus concentrations are determined as the mean of multiple laboratories and platforms.
Formerly known as CRM 522 (contains hemiglobincyanide).
Many laboratories performed spectrophotometry to determine the concentration.
Although there is no reference-method procedure for iron in serum, the concentration of iron in the pure solution (SRM) was determined via inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry.
Concentration of the pure solution of recombinant protein that was mixed into depleted human serum was determined with absorption at 280 nm.