Iron level in blood is a reliable diagnostic indicator of various disease states. Increased levels of iron concentration in blood are associated with blood loss, increased destruction of red blood cells (e.g. hemorrhage) or decreased blood cell survival, acute hepatitis, certain sideroachrestic anemias, ingestion of iron-rich diets, defects in iron storage (e.g. pernicious anemia). Decreased levels of blood iron may result from insufficient iron ingestion from diets, chronic blood loss pathologies, or increased demand on iron storage as during normal pregnancy. Simple, direct and automation-ready procedures for measuring iron concentrations find wide applications in research, drug discovery and environmental monitoring. BioAssay Systems' iron assay kit is designed to measure total iron directly in serum without any pretreatment. The improved method utilizes a chromogen that forms a blue colored complex specifically with Fe2+. Fe3+ in the sample is reduced to Fe2+, thus allowing the assay for total iron concentration. The intensity of the color, measured at 590nm, is directly proportional to the iron concentration in the sample. This product is for Research Use only and is not intended for diagnostic purposes.