A new method of melamine detection, developed by University of Miami College of Engineering Assistant Professor Na Li and her colleagues, reveals the presence of melamine in a product visually in solution as the color turns from red to blue. Spectrophotometric equipment can also be used to verify the test, which takes seconds.
Li’s new method, which has been published in Applied Physics Letters, is entitled “Rapid Detection of Melamine in Whole Milk Mediated by Unmodified Gold Nanoparticles.” The study develops a facile and accurate approach to detection of melamine using gold nanoparticles and a dual-color precipitation test. The complete detection method can be performed in less than 15 minutes.