The Dade Behring N Latex Cystatin C assay, a particle-enhanced nephelometric immunoassay for measuring serum cystatin C, was evaluated on the Dade Behring Nephelometer II. The assay time was 6 min and the throughput was 75 samples per hour. The sample volume was 40 microL and the measuring range was 0.25-7.90 mg/L. Imprecision studies revealed within-run CVs < 1.8% and between-run CVs < 1.8% in the concentration range 0.87-4.63 mg/L. Recovery was 92.4-101.3%. Linearity studies showed excellent correlation between the theoretical and obtained values. No interferences were detected from haemoglobin < 1.0 mmol/ L, bilirubin <512 micromol/L and Intralipid <20 g/L. Stability of cystatin C in serum was 7 days at temperatures from 20 degrees C to 20 degrees C and 6 months at -80 degrees C. Measurements of cystatin C in heparin-plasma and EDTA-plasma did not differ significantly from cystatin C measured in serum. Fifty patient samples run on the Dade Behring Nephelometer II (y) were compared to the Dako Cystatin C assay (x). The Passing-Bablok regression analysis revealed y = 1.105x - 0.340. In conclusion, the Dade Behring N Latex Cystatin C assay was precise and correlated with the Dako Cystatin C assay.