A SYSTEMATIC EVALUATION OF THE NELSON-SAMUELS PLASMA 17-HYDROXYCORTICOSTEROID METHOD*

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Abstract
The estimation of adrenocortical activity by the quantitative chemical measurement of blood hormone concentrations became practicable with the introduction of the Nelson-Samuels method in 1952 (1). The sensitivity and specificity required for the measurement of the minute quantities of free adrenocortical hormone in peripheral blood were achieved largely by the application of adsorption chromatography and by a micromodification of the Porter-Silber reaction for 17,21-dihydroxy-20-ketosteroids. The biologic importance of the method is emphasized by work from several laboratories identifying 17-hydroxycorticosterone, a 17,21-dihydroxy-20-ketosteroid compound, as a principal adrenocortical hormone in blood of humans and certain laboratory animals (2–6).