Automation of Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) Prior to Analysis of Infant Formula for Melamine

Melamine is used for the manufacture of a variety of products from plastics to cleaning products. sometimes Melamine is illegally added to food products to increase apparent protein content. Kjeldahl and Dumas are standard tests that estimate protein levels by measuring nitrogen content of food products. the addition of melamine falsely elevates estimated protein levels when using these tests. This application note examines the potential for automation of the time consuming SPE step used in FDA Method LIB No. 4422 for the analysis of melamine in foods.