[Modification of the thiobarbituric method for determining sialic acids in biological material].

The authors have examined the possibility of replacing sodium arsenite with acetyl thiourea and of using butanol acidified with phosphoric acid in measuring sialic acids in biologic material. The results evidence a sufficient specificity, reproducibility, higher sensitivity and lower toxicity of the modification as compared to the routine technique, for this modification does not involve the use of highly toxic sodium arsenite and of highly volatile aggressive butanol/hydrochloric acid mixture.