Carrez clarification is used to treat a wide variety of samples intended to be analyzed by enzymatic or other means. Many samples to be analyzed contain emulsions, turbidity and an assortment of redox chemicals, all of which can interfere with accurate determination of analytes. The Carrez reagent causes precipitation of proteins and fats, elimination of interference due to a number of oxidizing and reducing substances, which affect assays. It also breaks emulsions and eliminates turbidity frequently seen, particularly in food testing. The treatment of samples with Carrez Clarification Reagent is simpler, less expensive and takes less time than other methods such as spin filtering. Use of the Carrez reagent is not suitable for samples in which enzymatic activities are to be quantified. Most samples collected for analysis of small molecules such as carbohydrates, alcohols, aldehydes and organic acids can be prepared using this reagent system. There are a few analytes for which the use of the Carrez reagent is unsuitable, including ascorbate, ammonia, citrate or chemicals which are converted to these in enzyme based assays, such as urea (à ammonia) or aconitate (à citrate). The procedure is quick, simple and results in a minimal amount of dilution.
