Advances on melamine determination by micellar liquid chromatography: A review

Melamine is a toxic triazine which has been recently proven as a threat to human health. It can be ingested by several methods, being the most important the unethical adulteration of protein-rich foodstuff for economic reasons. This review presents several analytical methods, taken from the literature studies, devoted to the determination of melamine in milk, dietetic supplements, drinking and wastewater, swine kidney, plasma, and urine, using micellar liquid chromatography (MLC). We consider that the control of these samples is crucial to prevent and manage melamine intoxication. This technique has been demonstrated as an excellent tool to determine organic compounds in these matrices. We detail the optimization strategy and the obtained results in the different steps of method development, such as sample pretreatment, chromatographic separation, and validation process. The similarities and differences of the procedures have been described and discussed, as well as their advantages. The main ones were the possibility of direct injection and the efficient chromatographic elution, in spite of the complexity of the samples. Besides, it was found that the MLC procedures were fast, easy-to-handle, inexpensive, eco-friendly, safe, and useful for routine analysis. Therefore, they represent an excellent alternative to reliably evaluate the melamine concentration in that kind of samples.