HbA1C quantification with capillary electrophoresis equipment

The studies have been focused on to quantify HbA1c from glycohemoglobin fractions in whole blood samples of patients suffering diabetes mellitus. The Beckman P/ACE MDQ capillary electrophoresis (CE) instrument with commercial reagent kit from Analis (Namur Belgium) were used for simultaneous profiling of the glycohemoglobin fractions and quantification of HbA1c levels in patient blood samples. The determination of glycohemoglobins is extremely important in monitoring the glucose levels in diabetics. HbA1c is the highest fraction, which correlates the best with the diabetes equilibrium. International Comprehensive Diabetes Control and Complications Trials (DDTC) have been set-up to provide evidence about microvascular complications that are directly related on the degree of hyperglycemia in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes. The tests have been done with more than 20 different techniques in national laboratories world-wide, since no internationally accepted reference system is yet available. For standardization of the methodology of hemoglobin measurements, recently a capillary electrophoresis technique has been introduced as a choice for fractionation of the glycohemoglobins, giving higher separation efficiency without manipulation of the human blood samples.