MEASUREMENT OF STEROID BINDING PROTEINS

ABSTRACT A brief review of the characteristics of steroid binding proteins found in the plasma and in some target organs is presented, followed by some general remarks on binding »specificity« and binding parameters. Useful techniques for measuring binding parameters at equilibrium are reported, both those which keep the equilibrium intact and those which implicate its disruption. A concept is developed according to which the determination of a specific steroid binding protein is based on the »differential dissociation« of the several steroid binding complexes present in most biological mixtures. Methods which allow determination of the kinetic parameters of the binding systems are also presented. Various representations of the binding and therefore different modes of graphic representation and calculation are discussed, including the recent »proportion graph« method.