Visual detection of melamine in milk samples based on label-free and labeled gold nanoparticles

Melamine that can cause serious damage to the organs of animal or human beings was found to bind to polythymine via hydrogen bonding. With this novel discovery, colorimetric detection of melamine based on label-free and labeled gold nanoparticles was developed, respectively. Both of the methods revealed good selectivity for melamine over other components that may exist in milk and good anti-influence ability. The raw milk samples were pretreated according to the National standard method combined with a solid phase extraction monolithic column. The accurate quantification of melamine as low as 41.7 nM and 46.5 nM was obtained, respectively. It also guarantees fast and reliable readout with naked eyes, making visual detection possible. Further comparison between label-free and labeled based methods was discussed in this paper.