New Colorimetric reaction for end-point, continuous-flow, and kinetic measurement of urea.

A reaction of urea, o-phthalaldehyde and N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine is described for measurement of urea by manual, continuous-flow, and kinetic methods. The continuous-flow system requires 25 mu-l of sample; 40 samples can be analyzed per hour. The kinetic method requires no enzymes, has no lag phase, and has good sensitivity. A major advantage of the reaction is that it occurs at a temperature of 37 degrees C or lower. The results obtained by all three methods agree well with those for a continuous-flow procedure in which diacetyl is a reagent.