This technique uses a separation method based on the specific precipitation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) by polyvinyl sulfate in whole serum, sedimentation of the precipitant by centrifugation, and subsequent test as residual cholesterol of the rest of lipoproteins (VLDL+ HDL) remaining in the clear supernatant.
LDL-cholesterol is calculated by substracting the supernatant cholesterol fraccions from the total cholesterol of the sample.