High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of protoporphyrin and zinc protoporphyrin in blood

Zinc protoporphyrin and protoporphyrin free acid in blood were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography on a C₁₈ column. Results for 63 human blood samples obtained through a lead poisoning detection program compared favorably with the widely-used ethyl acetate—acetic acid extraction determination. Blood from 16 rats which had been maintained on water heavily spiked with chloroform or bromodichloromethane and blood from a lead-poisoned cow were examined by this procedure.