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Isotope Dilution

Meaning

Isotope dilution is an advanced analytical technique used in clinical chemistry and endocrinology for the highly accurate and precise quantification of endogenous hormonal concentrations in biological samples, such as serum or urine. This method involves adding a known quantity of a stable, isotopically labeled version of the target hormone (the internal standard) to the sample before extraction and analysis. It is considered a gold-standard reference method for measuring steroid hormones like testosterone and cortisol, offering superior accuracy compared to traditional immunoassays.