The intentional adulteration of pet food with melamine and derivatives, including cyanuric acid, has been implicated in the kidney failure and death of a large number of cats and dogs in the United States. Although individually these compounds present low toxicity, coexposure can lead to the formation of melamine cyanurate crystals in the nephrons and eventual kidney failure. To determine the d...

BACKGROUND In 2008, the outbreak of kidney stones in children fed by melamine-tainted milk products in Mainland China has caused major public concern of food safety. We identified Hong Kong school children with elevated urine melamine level from a community-based school survey in 2007-08 and reviewed their clinical status in 2009. METHODS In 2007-08, 2119 school children participated in a pri...

A simple, rapid colorimetric method using label-free Ag NPs (silver nanoparticles) as probe for detection of melamine in raw milk was developed in this study. The assay relies on the fact that melamine can induce aggregation of Ag NPs, and thereby results in their yellow-to-red color change. The concentration of melamine in raw milk can be determined by monitoring with the naked eyes or a UVeVi...

The migration of melamine monomers from food contact materials has aroused particular attention since the 2008 melamine-tainted milk scandal in China. However, the determination of melamine monomer's migratory quantity (MMMQ) has remained an open question because of the complex sample pretreatment and the low sensitivity. Based on the hydrogen bonding interaction between DNA thymine and melamin...

OBJECTIVES To study the migration of melamine into foods from plastic food packaging materials and dairy product containers commonly used in China. METHODS 37 samples were collected from the market. The EU migration testing conditions were adopted with distilled water, 3% acetic acid, n-hexane and 15% ethanol being chosen as the simulating solutions. The HPLC method was used to detect melamin...

Rhodococcus sp. strain Mel was isolated from soil by enrichment and grew in minimal medium with melamine as the sole N source with a doubling time of 3.5 h. Stoichiometry studies showed that all six nitrogen atoms of melamine were assimilated. The genome was sequenced by Roche 454 pyrosequencing to 13× coverage, and a 22.3-kb DNA region was found to contain a homolog to the melamine deaminase g...

This study assessed the toxicity of melamine against the unicellular eukaryotic system of Tetrahymena (T.) pyriformis exposed to 0, 0.05, 0.25, 0.5, 2.5, and 5 mg/mL of melamine. Cell growth curves of different cultures, the half maximum inhibition concentration (IC(50)) value of melamine, and morphological changes in cells were obtained via optical and transmission electron microscopic observa...

The intentional adulteration of pet food with melamine and cyanuric acid has been implicated in the kidney failure and death of a large number of cats and dogs in the United States. Although individually these compounds present low toxicity in a range of experimental animals, coexposure can lead to the formation of melamine cyanurate crystals in the nephrons and eventual kidney failure. Given t...

Milk contaminated with melamine resulted in an important health hazard that affected many babies in China recently. Ultrasonic characterization of adulterated milk may detect gross levels of melamine contamination. Sound speed and density measurements were made in skim milk as a function of melamine adulteration. An ultrasonic measurement technique to implement milk quality control is discussed.