Liquid chromatographic determination of melamine in beverages

A liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination of melamine in beverages. Melamine is separated by column chromatography using cation and anion exchange resin and determined by ion-pair liquid chromatography using an ODS column and a mixture of acetonitrile and 0.05M phosphate buffer (pH 3.0) containing 0.005M sodium 1-laurylsulfate (1 + 4, v/v) as mobile phase. Recoveries of melamine ranged between 90.3 +/- 7.8 and 102.1 +/- 5.6% at levels of 0.6 to 2.4 ppm in 4 kinds of beverages. The quantitation limit was 2.5 micrograms melamine in 50 mL beverage. The method was applied to the migration test of melamine from melamine-formaldehyde resin products to the beverages.     

Diagnostic determination of melamine and related compounds in kidney tissue by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

In 2007, it was determined that melamine, ammeline, ammelide, and cyanuric acid (abbreviated as MARC for melamine and related contaminants) had been added to wheat gluten and rice protein that were subsequently incorporated into pet food. The consumption of food tainted by MARC compounds was implicated in numerous instances of renal failure in cats and dogs. A method for the analysis of MARC compounds in kidney tissue using high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) has been developed. MARC analytes were extracted by homogenization of kidney tissue in 50/40/10 acetonitrile/water/diethylamine. The homogenate was centrifuged, and an aliquot of supernatant was diluted with acetonitrile, concentrated, and fortified with a stable isotope-labeled analogue of melamine. Analytes were detected using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and multiple reaction monitoring. Quantitation of positive samples was performed using the internal standard method and five-point calibration curves ranging between 50 and 1000 ng/mL of each analyte. The method was validated by analysis of replicate kidney tissue samples fortified with the individual analytes and by analysis of kidney samples fortified with melamine cyanurate powder at two different concentrations. This method was successfully used for routine postmortem diagnosis of melamine toxicosis in animals. Melamine was also detected by this method in paraffin-embedded tissue from animals suspected to have died of melamine toxicosis.     

Synthesis of a novel composite imprinted material based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a selective melamine absorbent

A novel composite imprinted material, on the basis of a multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT)-incorporated layer using melamine as a template, methacrylic acid as a functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker, was synthesized by a surface imprinting technique. The imprinted/CNT sorbent was characterized by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Adsorption dynamics and a Scatchard adsorption model were employed to evaluate the adsorption process. The results showed that the imprinted/CNT sorbent displayed a rapid dynamic adsorption and a high adsorption capacity of 79.9 μmol g(-1) toward melamine. Applied as a sorbent, the imprinted/CNT sorbent was used for the determination of melamine in a real sample by online solid-phase extraction-high-performance liquid chromatography (SPE-HPLC). An enrichment ratio of 563-fold, detection limit (S/N = 3) of 0.3 μg L(-1), and quantification limit of 4.5 μg L(-1) were achieved.     

三聚氰胺对斜生栅藻的毒性研究

采用光照培养箱培养斜生栅藻的方法,以甘油为溶剂,研究了三聚氰胺对斜生栅藻的毒性效应。结果显示,当三聚氰胺的浓度在50、200 mg.L-1时,对斜生栅藻生长有促进作用,在750 mg.L-1时则表现出抑制效应,染毒7 d后对叶绿素的影响和对藻密度的影响一致,显示浓度-效应关系,即浓度越高抑制效应越明显。三聚氰胺对斜生栅藻超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）的影响表现为：当三聚氰胺浓度为200 mg.L-1时酶的活性达到峰值,然后开始下降,在750 mg.L-1 SOD的活性与对照相比减少了43.6%,三聚氰胺对斜生栅藻的脂质过氧化产物丙二醛（MDA）的影响和对可溶性糖的影响效应是一致的,随着浓度的增加均在减少。     

线扫描式拉曼高光谱成像技术无损检测奶粉三聚氰胺

为了实现颗粒状样本的大面积无损快速检测,该研究结合拉曼光谱和高光谱技术搭建了一套线扫描式拉曼高光谱检测系统,对奶粉和三聚氰胺颗粒混合样本进行了检测研究。研究通过高斯窗平滑法和air PLS基线校正方法分别消除了拉曼光谱中的噪声信号和荧光背景,选取三聚氰胺主要特征峰(671.71 cm-1)处的单波段图像作为是否含有三聚氰胺颗粒的判断依据。研究首先对三聚氰胺产生的拉曼信号在奶粉颗粒中的穿透深度进行了检测,随后完成了10种不同浓度的三聚氰胺奶粉混合样本的拉曼高光谱采集,对特征单波段图像中各像素点的拉曼强度平均值进行一元线性分析,并对单波段图像进行二值化处理。结果显示,在三聚氰胺特征单波段图像中,感兴趣区域内所有像素点的拉曼强度平均值与三聚氰胺浓度之间线性度较高,其决定系数R2达到了0.995 4。在二值图像中,三聚氰胺颗粒的位置信息能够直观的展现。研究结果表明,拉曼高光谱成像技术具有快速、无损和大面积检测的特点,在实际应用中具有巨大潜力。     

Analytical method for the determination of cyromazine and melamine residues in soil using LC-UV and GC-MSD

A method is reported for the determination of cyromazine and melamine residues in soil. Soil samples are extracted twice via mechanical shaking, each time with 70% acetonitrile/30% 0.050 M ammomium carbonate for 30 min. An aliquot portion of the pooled extracts is subjected to strong cation exchange (SCX) purification on AG 50W-X4 resin. Final analysis is accomplished using liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (LC-UV) detection at a wavelength of 214 nm. Confirmatory analyses can be performed using gas chromatography-mass selective detection (GC-MSD) in the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The limit of detection (LOD) is 2.5 ng injected and the limit of quantification (LOQ) is 10 ppb when using LC-UV for the analysis of N-cyclopropyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4, 6-triamine (cyromazine) and 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine (melamine). The LOD is 0.050 ng injected and the LOQ is 10 ppb when using GC-MSD for confirmatory analyses. The mean procedural recoveries were 97 and 95% and the standard deviations were 16 and 11% for cyromazine and melamine, respectively (n = 24), when using LC-UV. The mean procedural recoveries were 107 and 92% and the standard deviations were 9.9 and 16% for cyromazine and melamine, respectively (n = 29), when using GC-MSD. The method validation study was conducted under U.S. EPA FIFRA Good Laboratory Practice Guidelines 40 CFR 160. The method also passed an Independent Laboratory Validation (ILV) as per U.S. EPA FIFRA Subdivision N.     

肥料中掺入三聚氰胺的风险分析

从三聚氰胺牛奶污染事件可以看到,三聚氰胺以其较高的含氮量,可显著提高掺入后混合物的含氮量和凯氏定氮法的总氮检出值。肥料也面临这样的问题。从三聚氰胺对植物的氮素有效性、吸收利用形态、对植物的毒害作用以及残留在农产品中对食品安全的影响等方面,在理论层面上分析了肥料中掺入三聚氰胺的风险:认为植物能吸收三聚氰胺,并会在植株中形成残留,进而影响植物性农产品的食用安全性。因此,应对肥料中三聚氰胺予以限量。     

Efficient fluorescence energy transfer system between CdTe-doped silica nanoparticles and gold nanoparticles for turn-on fluorescence detection of melamine

We here report an efficient and enhanced fluorescence energy transfer system between confined quantum dots (QDs) by entrapping CdTe into the mesoporous silica shell (CdTe@SiO?) as donors and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as acceptors. At pH 6.50, the CdTe@SiO?-AuNPs assemblies coalesce to form larger clusters due to charge neutralization, leading to the fluorescence quenching of CdTe@SiO? as a result of energy transfer. As compared with the energy transfer system between unconfined CdTe and AuNPs, the maximum fluorescence quenching efficiency of the proposed system is improved by about 27.0%, and the quenching constant, K(sv), is increased by about 2.4-fold. The enhanced quenching effect largely turns off the fluorescence of CdTe@SiO? and provides an optimal "off-state" for sensitive "turn-on" assay. In the present study, upon addition of melamine, the weak fluorescence system of CdTe@SiO?-AuNPs is enhanced due to the strong interactions between the amino group of melamine and the gold nanoparticles via covalent bond, leading to the release of AuNPs from the surfaces of CdTe@SiO?; thus, its fluorescence is restored. A "turn-on" fluorimetric method for the detection of melamine is proposed based on the restored fluorescence of the system. Under the optimal conditions, the fluorescence enhanced efficiency shows a linear function against the melamine concentrations ranging from 7.5 × 10?? to 3.5 × 10?? M (i.e., 1.0-44 ppb). The analytical sensitivity is improved by about 50%, and the detection limit is decreased by 5.0-fold, as compared with the analytical results using the CdTe-AuNPs system. Moreover, the proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of melamine in real samples with excellent recoveries in the range from 97.4 to 104.1%. Such a fluorescence energy transfer system between confined QDs and AuNPs may pave a new way for designing chemo/biosensing.     

Model studies on the efficacy of protein homogenates from raw pork muscle and dry-cured ham in binding selected flavor compounds

The binding of sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins extracted from postrigor pork muscle and from 7 and 12 months dry-cured hams with volatile compounds such as 3-methyl-butanal, 2-methyl-butanal, 2-pentanone, hexanal, methional, and octanal was studied using solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography analysis. The binding ability of sarcoplasmic proteins from pork muscle was higher than the ability shown by 7 and 12 months dry-cured ham sarcoplasmic homogenates and also higher than the binding ability of myofibrillar homogenates. The effect of the ionic strength on the binding was also studied. This effect was more important on myofibrillar proteins due to its ability to produce changes on the protein conformation that affect their binding ability. However, the sarcoplasmic protein binding ability was more related to the small compounds present in this homogenate than with the aqueous phase ionic strength.     

Melamine-induced urolithiasis in a Drosophila model

Melamine-tainted food can induce renal stones in both humans and animals. We have previously reported a novel Drosophila model for the study of renal stone disease. In addition to hyperoxaluria-causing agents, we also tested herein the effect of melamine on crystal formation in Drosophila . The results indicate that administration of melamine alone caused crystal formation in a dose-dependent manner. The crystals also appeared after ingestion of melamine for 3 weeks in the Malpighian tubules of Drosophila when viewed with polarized light. Administration of potassium citrate (K citrate) was found to significantly ameliorate the melamine-induced reduction of lifespan. However, administration of K citrate failed to reduce the quantity of crystals. Because calcium oxalate is not the major crystal induced by melamine, the predominant components of melamine-induced crystals and the potential crystal inhibitors warrant further investigation.     

Single-run electrochemical determination of melamine in dairy products and pet foods

A simple electrochemical approach, which does not require any expensive and complex instruments, is established for the selective and quantitative recognition of melamine in diary products and pet foods. During a preconcentration step (at 1.8 V versus Ag/AgCl), the formation of a polymer film from melamine on a preanodized screen-printed carbon electrode was identified by SEM and XPS. The as-formed polymer was found to be electroactive with a reversible redox peak, and hence square-wave voltammetry was applied to further increase the detection sensitivity to meet the detection limit for application in real sample analysis. Simply with a medium exchange procedure, melamine was selectively detected with a detection limit (S/N=3) of 0.8 μM (i.e., 98.3 ppb) by square-wave voltammetry. Lower than 1 ppm of melamine in real samples can be easily detected with good recoveries of 98.7-100.9% by the proposed approach. The recovery tests established for external calibration and standard addition techniques verified that the analysis can be done in a single-run measurement.     

Binding of 2-nonanone and milk proteins in aqueous model systems

Interactions of the model flavor compound 2-nonanone with individual milk proteins, whey protein isolate (WPI), and sodium caseinate in aqueous solutions were investigated. A method to quantify the free 2-nonanone was developed using headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Binding constants (K) and numbers of binding sites (n) for 2-nonanone on the individual proteins were calculated. The 2-nonanone binding capacities decreased in the order bovine serum albumin > beta-lactoglobulin > alpha-lactalbumin > alpha s1-casein > beta-casein, and the binding to WPI was stronger than the binding to sodium caseinate. All proteins appeared to have one binding site for 2-nonanone per molecule of protein at the flavor concentrations investigated, except for bovine serum albumin, which possessed two classes of binding sites. The binding mechanism is believed to involve predominantly hydrophobic interactions.     

In vitro binding of germanium to proteins of rice shoots

The possibility of in vitro binding between proteins of rice shoots and germanium (Ge) was investigated. The proteins in mixtures of aqueous extracts of rice shoots and radioactive germanium (⁶⁸GeO₂) were fractionated. The binding of radioactivity to the proteins was observed even after 5 successive fractionation steps from the original mixtures. At the final fractionation step using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, a constant proportionality between protein concentration and associated radioactivity was found in most samples although not all. These results indicate that the binding of ⁸⁸Ge to proteins is not due to the simple adsorption by proteins.     

高效液相色谱法同时测定土壤中环丙氨嗪和三聚氰胺

本试验研究建立了同时测定土壤中环丙氨嗪和三聚氰胺残留量的高效液相色谱法.红壤、潮土等5种土壤样品经氨水/甲醇 (5/95,v/v)超声提取3次,浓缩处理后上机检测.环丙氨嗪和三聚氰胺的标准曲线在0.1 ～ 15.0 μg/ml浓度范围内线性关系良好,绝对系数(R2)分别为1.0000和0.9998;在0.5 ～ 5 mg/kg添加范围内,环丙氨嗪和三聚氰胺在土壤中的平均回收率分别为87.2% ～ 101.1% 和 75.3% ～ 101.6%,变异系数分别为3.3% ～ 8.1%、1.6% ～ 9.9%,最低检测限分别为0.05 mg/kg、0.07 mg/kg.与国际上气相/液相色谱-质谱连用法相比,操作简单,经济方便易于普及.     

Effect of beta-cyclodextrin on aroma release and flavor perception

Binding and release of volatile compounds to and from beta-cyclodextrin were measured in model aqueous systems using static equilibrium headspace and dynamic headspace dilution. Beta-cyclodextrin decreased the static equilibrium headspace for some volatiles (e.g., ethyl octanoate and decanone) due to binding, but dilution studies demonstrated that binding was readily reversible. Dynamic release of hydrophobic volatile compounds was similar to that observed from emulsions. When beta-cyclodextrin was added to fat free yogurt, the release of a commercial lemon flavoring was modified and was similar to release from a regular fat yogurt. Sensory difference testing confirmed the release results. The data demonstrate that beta-cyclodextrin can be used to modify flavor delivery in both model and real systems; the effects in the latter are sensorially significant.     

Flavor-protein binding: disulfide interchange reactions between ovalbumin and volatile disulfides

The irreversible binding of selected sulfur-containing flavor compounds to proteins was investigated in aqueous solutions containing ovalbumin and a mixture of disulfides (diethyl, dipropyl, dibutyl, diallyl, and 2-furfuryl methyl) using solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME). In systems which had not been heated, the recovery of disulfides from the headspace above the protein at the native pH (6.7) was similar to that from an aqueous blank. However, significant losses were observed when the pH of the solution was increased to 8.0. When the protein was denatured by heating, much greater losses were observed and some free thiols were produced. In similar heat-denatured systems at pH 2.0, no losses of disulfides were observed. Disulfides containing allyl or furfuryl groups were more reactive than saturated alkyl disulfides. Interchange reactions between protein sulfhydryl groups and the disulfides are believed to be responsible for the loss of the disulfides.     

Effect of Enzymatic Deamidation of Soy Protein by Protein-Glutaminase on the Flavor-Binding Properties of the Protein under Aqueous Conditions

The effect of the enzymatic deamidation by protein-glutaminase (PG) on flavor-binding properties of soy protein isolate (SPI) under aqueous conditions was evaluated by a modified equilibrium dialysis (ultrafiltration) technique. Binding parameters, such as number of binding sites (n) and binding constants (K), were derived from Klotz plots. The partial deamidation of SPI by PG (43.7% degree of deamidation) decreased overall flavor-binding affinity (nK) at 25 °C for both vanillin and maltol by approximately 9- and 4-fold, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters of binding indicated that the flavor-protein interactions were spontaneous (negative ΔG°) and that the driving force of the interactions shifted from entropy to enthalpy driven as a result of deamidation. Deamidation of soy protein caused a change in the mechanism of binding from hydrophobic interactions or covalent bonding (Schiff base formation) to weaker van der Waals forces or hydrogen bonding.     

Chemical moieties and interactions involved in the binding of zearalenone to the surface of Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains GG

Viable, heat-and acid-killed Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG (LGG) has shown high binding properties with zearalenone (ZEN). To identify the type of chemical moieties and interactions involved in binding with the ZEN, LGG was subjected to different chemical and enzymatical treatments, prior to the binding experiments. Pretreating the viable, heat- and acid-killed bacteria with m-periodate significantly decreased ZEN binding, suggesting that ZEN binds predominantly to carbohydrate components. Pretreatment with Pronase E had no effect on the ability of viable cells to bind ZEN, however, a reduction in the binding of ZEN by heat- and acid-killed cells, suggesting that the new binding sites exposed by heat or acid are proteins in nature. Pretreatment with urea also decreased binding, suggesting that hydrophobic interactions play a role in ZEN binding. The binding of ZEN in concentrations ranging from 0.79 to 62.82 microM and its subsequent dissociation by repetitive aqueous washes was also studied. The binding sites of the bacteria were not saturated by the maximum ZEN concentration studied.     

Pet Food Information: Resources for Making Healthy Choices for Our Best Friends

Many of us who are guardians for companion animals were struck with fear when we heard about the massive recall of cat and dog foods during the spring of 2007. Even premium brands were being added to the recall list. Dogs and cats were becoming ill and many died from what appeared to be some sort of food contamination. Eventually, the cause of these pet illnesses and deaths was linked to the intentional adding of melamine to wheat gluten and rice protein imported from China. The melamine combined with cyanuric acid—a by-product of melamine and an additive in some animal feed—caused the formation of crystals in the kidneys of cats and dogs that consumed the tainted food (Dobson et al., 2008).

Shortly after the pet food recalls of 2007, Congress worked to promote better food safety, including the safety of pet food. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) chaired hearings on the pet food recall (American Veterinary Medical Association, 2007). New pet food legislation was included and passed as part of the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007, Public Law 110–85. Section 1002 of the Act deals with pet food safety, and this section was codified at 21 U.S.C. §2102. This provision requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to work with the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and other stakeholders to establish regulations regarding ingredients, processing standards, and labeling for pet food. It also requires the establishment of “early warning surveillance systems and notification during pet food recalls” (21 U.S.C. §2102[b]).