A novel low-cost approach for the semi-quantitative analysis of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)

摘要

Background and aim: The increase of the carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) as results of an heavy intake of alcohol for at least two weeks, is a well-known biochemical modification since the middle '70s. Notwithstanding the first commercial kit for the diagnosis of chronic alcohol abuse based on this biomarker was commercially accessible already thirty years ago, only expensive analytical methods are currently available for its determination. The present paper shows a new approach intrinsically sensitive and specific, based on a specific derivatization of transferrin, and not requiring sophisticated instrumentation.