Current Science

Nitish Rai ¹, Dibyajyoti Banerjee ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Biophysics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110 029, IN
2 Department of Experimental Medicine and Biotechnology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160 012, IN

Abstract

Melamine has emerged as one of the major food adulterants world over. Its high nitrogen content makes it a cheaper protein alternative, resulting in illegal adulteration of food and feed. Despite past incidences showing a higher risk to humans, there is no single method available to detect melamine in human samples at a lower cost-setting. Since melamine is excreted in the urine in an unchanged form, it can be detected directly by the development of a test at a patient's bedside via exploiting the intrinsic fluorescence ability of melamine cyanuric acid complex. Such a simple test will encourage huge public awareness and participation.

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