Development and Multicenter Evaluation of the N Latex CDT Direct Immunonephelometric Assay

is a promising biomarker of alcohol abuse. We describe the development and multicenter evaluation of N Latex CDT (Dade Behring), an automated, particle-enhanced, homogeneous immunonephelometric assay for directly determining CDT. Methods:N Latex CDT uses a monoclonal antibody that recognizes the structure of transferrin glycoforms lack-ing 1 or 2 complete N-glycans [i.e., disialo-, monosialo-, and asialotransferrins (CDT glycoforms)] in combina-tion with a simultaneous assay for total transferrin. The Dade Behring BN II ™ and BN ProSpec ® systems auto-matically calculate the CDT value as a percentage of total transferrin (%CDT). No preanalytical sample treat-ment is used. Results: Total imprecision values for serum pools con