Dionex Application Note 231: Determination of Melamine in Milk

Dionex Application Note 231: Determination of Melamine in Milk by Ion Chromatography with UV Detection describes a method that uses the IonPac CS17 column and UV detection to determine the amount of melamine in samples of milk, powdered milk and a milk-containing candy.

Melamine has been found as a contaminant in pet food, milk and milk-containing products, resulting in infant and pet deaths. It is a cation and can be separated from other compounds by cation-exchange chromatography. However, milk and milk-based products can be difficult for chromatographic methods due to the large variety of compounds present that can interfere with the analytes of interest.

The method described in Application Note 231 is a step towards the accurate determination of melamine adulteration in milk samples, as it provides a selectivity that may be needed for difficult sample matrices.