A RAPID HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF MELAMINE IN RENAL CALCULI

A rapid high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC). technique for the determination of melamine (MEL) in renal calculi has been developed. MEL was extracted from calculi with 0.1M sodium hydroxide. Separation was conducted on a reversed-phase C18 column with 1mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0)/methanol (95/5, v/v) as mobile phase. Linearity range for MEL was 0.05-50 mu g mL(-1) and limit of detection (LOD) was 16 mu g g(-1). The reliability of this method was validated. The content of MEL in the ten calculi was from 200 mu g g(-1) to 339,000 mu g g(-1). The method could be used for research on the pathogenesis of nephrolithiasis associated with the ingestion of excessive MEL.