| Abstract [eng] |
Background: Zinc plays an important role in homeostasis of human body. It is a cofactor for approximately 300 metalloproteins, such as carbonic anhydrase, pancreatic carboxypeptidase or “zinc fingers”. It is also vital for insulin production and secretion. As it is such a big part of our body’s biochemical pathways, the lack or excess of zinc leads to a wide range of disfunctions. This is why it is so important to detect zinc level in blood specimen correctly. To do so, there are plenty of methods, but in this thesis 2 of them were investigated and compared. Methods: 108 blood specimens were collected and zinc concentration was measured using atomic absorbtion spectroscopy and colorimetric method in Vilnius University Hospital Santariskiu Klinikos starting 2015 January and ending 2016 April. Results: Atomic absorbtion spectroscopy method was optimized: blood serum has been diluted with deionized water ratio 1:10, samples have been atomized with air-acetylene flame, atomic absorbtion measured in 213,9 nm wavelength. Results were compared using Passing – Bablok regression and Bland - Altman analysis, it gave the following results: intercept = -4,4636 (95% CI -7,0279 to -2,2227), slope = 1,1071 (95% CI 0,9766 to 1,2611). Both methods showed good correlation r = 0,83258 (p<0,05). In conclusion, both methods are suitable for the accurate determination of zinc in human serum, although regarding price, time consumption and operator’s effort, atomic absorbtion spectroscopy did overcome the colorimetric method. |
