A method of determining the percentage of glycated hemoglobin in a blood sample
is disclosed wherein at least one of the assay steps is performed electrochemically.
The method includes determining the total amount of hemoglobin in a sample by electrochemically
measuring, in an oxygen electroreduction reaction at a cathode, the amount of oxygen
in the sample. Because the amount of oxygen dissolved in the sample is known, the
total hemoglobin is determined by subtracting the amount of free oxygen from the
total oxygen measured, recognizing the fast equilibrium Hb+O2HbO2.
This can be followed by determining the amount of glycated hemoglobin in the sample.
The cathode reaction is accomplished by contacting the sample with an enzyme, the
enzyme being a copper-containing enzyme having four copper ions per active unit.
The family of these enzymes includes, for example, laccases and bilirubin oxidases.