Development of an egg-white bioassay for monitoring biotin levels in urine and serum

Abstract

This article reports on the development of a simple and cost-effective bioassay for the detection of biotin in urine and serum, based on the very selective binding of avidin and biotin. Avidin was allowed to react without isolating it from egg white. Egg white was treated with the dye HABA, which binds to avidin. Upon subsequent treatment with biotin, HABA is released due to the high affinity of biotin to avidin. The amount of HABA released is proportional to the amount of biotin used.