Development of Stable Film Test for Rapid Estimation of Blood or Plasma 3-Hydroxybutyrate

A film test for the rapid detection of plasma/serum 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-OHB) has been developed. The film contains NAD, nitro blue tetrazolium, 3-OHB dehydrogenase, and diaphorase, and the surface is coated with modified biomembrane and can detect 50- 1500 μM 3-OHB within 2–3 min. One drop or 50 μl of plasma/serum or blood is applied to the film, and the violet color is read via reflectance meter after 2 min. Plasma/serum samples >1500 μM 3-OHB can be measured by dilution with saline. In blood with 40% hematocrit, the color developed is 50% less than with plasma/serum, and this was adjusted in the reflectance meter. A good correlation (r = 0.99) was observed between results with automated and film methods and between visual methods and reflectance meter. In insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, all 3 subjects with positive ketonuria (+ +), 8 of 12 subjects with mild ketonuria (+), and 7 of 25 subjects without ketonuria exhibited elevation of 3-OHB in blood >200 μM. The results indicate that 3-OHB film is valuable not only in the emergency room for the differential diagnosis between ketoacidotic and nonketotic hyperosmolar coma but also as a marker for insulin dependency, energy dependency on fatty acid compared with glucose, and metabolic control of diabetes.