Abstract:
The present invention relates to a method for directly measuring concentrations of cholesterol associated with specific lipoproteins in a plasma sample. The method involves the specific capture of intact lipoprotein particles containing cholesterol from a plasma sample with a specific lipoprotein binding agent. The quantity of the specific lipoprotein cholesterol present in the sample is then measured by detecting the amount of binding-agent-lipoprotein complexes that have formed in the reaction. The cholesterol contained in the binding-agent-lipoprotein complexes can be detected by reacting the complexes with labeled cholesterol specific binding agents and measuring the amount of label bound thereto, or by releasing the cholesterol in the complexes and measuring the amount of cholesterol released. The specific lipoprotein binding agent can be bound to a solid support. The assay method may also incorporate a further step of separating the solid support from the sample before detecting the presence of cholesterol bound to the solid support.