A highly specific method for the characterization of glycation and glyco-oxidation products of globins

A new method, based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) measurements, has been developed for the evaluation of the glycation level of globins, a relevant parameter for diabetes control. It shows high levels of reproducibility and specificity, allowing the different glycated and glyco-oxidized products of both α- and β-globins to be distinguished. Such specificity is reflected in its possible diagnostic use not only for the control of diabetes, but also for the occurrence of ‘oxidative stress’. The comparison, for the same samples, of the obtained MALDI data with the related HbA1c values, determined by a high performance liquid chromatographic method, allowed it to be established that HbA1c percentages are not, as usually retained, related to the simply glycated β-globin, but to the whole pool of glycated and glyco-oxidized α- and β-globins. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.