TIBC

• TIBC – how much iron are serum proteins (mostly transferrin) able to hold
• ferrous state of iron - 2+
• method of TIBC determination:

  • Excess ferrous iron (500 micrograms/dL) added to sample so all transport proteins are saturated
  • unbound iron is quantified using serum iron determination
  • subtracted from initial amount of iron added (500) to obtain unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC)
  • TIBC calculated by adding serum iron to UIBC