A method for detecting toxemia in a subject patient, comprising the steps of: (a) mixing a labelled 16-DOXYL-stearic acid probe having a site to bind to albumin with an aliquot of a subject patient's extracellular fluid containing albumin, the amount of probe such that the molar ratio of the probe to the albumin is in the range of 0.3 to 1.5; (b) mixing ethanol with the mixture of the aliquot and the probe, wherein the ethanol when added to the mixture increases the solubility of the probe in the aliquot, and wherein the amount of ethanol added causes a portion of the probe to dissociate from the albumin without causing toxins to dissociate from the albumin; (c) analyzing the mixture comprising the aliquot, the probe, and the ethanol to determine the binding efficiency of the albumin in the patient's extracellular fluid, wherein the binding efficiency is the concentration ratio of bound probe and unbound probe adjusted for the concentration of the added ethanol in the mixture and where the binding efficiency is calculated using the formula: 1/BE= (Sc/S-1) x (F/B) x P, where BE is binding efficiency, F is the concentration of unbound probe, B is the concentration of bound probe, Sc is the critical solvent concentration at which all probe is dissociated from the albumin and dissolved in the solution, S is the solvent concentration and P is the concentration of albumin; and (d) comparing the subject binding efficiency to at least one control binding efficiency of the albumin in the extracellular fluid of at least one non-toxemic control patient, wherein the amount of ethanol mixed with the aliquot and probe does not induce conformational changes in the albumin, and wherein the volume of ethanol mixed with the aliquot makes up less than 30% of the volume of the aliquot, and optionally less than 10% of the volume of the aliquot. (a) mixing a labelled 16-DOXYL-stearic acid probe having a site to bind to albumin with an aliquot of a subject patient's extracellular fluid containing albumin, the amount of probe such that the molar ratio of the probe to the albumin is in the range of 0.3 to 1.5; (b) mixing ethanol with the mixture of the aliquot and the probe, wherein the ethanol when added to the mixture increases the solubility of the probe in the aliquot, and wherein the amount of ethanol added causes a portion of the probe to dissociate from the albumin without causing toxins to dissociate from the albumin; (c) analyzing the mixture comprising the aliquot, the probe, and the ethanol to determine the binding efficiency of the albumin in the patient's extracellular fluid, wherein the binding efficiency is the concentration ratio of bound probe and unbound probe adjusted for the concentration of the added ethanol in the mixture and where the binding efficiency is calculated using the formula: 1/BE= (Sc/S-1) x (F/B) x P, where BE is binding efficiency, F is the concentration of unbound probe, B is the concentration of bound probe, Sc is the critical solvent concentration at which all probe is dissociated from the albumin and dissolved in the solution, S is the solvent concentration and P is the concentration of albumin; and (d) comparing the subject binding efficiency to at least one control binding efficiency of the albumin in the extracellular fluid of at least one non-toxemic control patient, wherein the amount of ethanol mixed with the aliquot and probe does not induce conformational changes in the albumin, and wherein the volume of ethanol mixed with the aliquot makes up less than 30% of the volume of the aliquot, and optionally less than 10% of the volume of the aliquot.