We adapted the ultracentrifugation method of the Lipid Research Clinics Program for the separation of lipid subfractions (LDL, VLDL and HDL cholesterol) to a tabletop ultracentrifuge (Beckman TL-100). Centrifugation time was reduced from 18 h to 2·5 h and the sample volume from 5 mL to 2 mL plasma. The imprecision of the LDL-cholesterol estimation (coefficient of variation = CV) was 2·9–7·4% and that of HDL-cholesterol measurement was 1·4–3·9%. Imprecision of the VLDL-C measurement was high (CV = 15·6–29·8%). The results correlated with those obtained by the Lipid Research Clinics method (P < 0·001). Our method could be conveniently adapted by clinical laboratories serving specialist lipid clinics.
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