A Novel Technique for Rapid Detection of Melamine in Milk Using Iron Oxide Nanopar

The paper proposes a very sensitive and rapid colourimetric method of quantitative determination of melamine in the commercial milk powder samples, which are acquired in the local markets of the Governorate of Najaf. The method uses built-in peroxidase-like activity of the Iron Oxide Magnetic Nanoparticles (Fe3O 4 MNPs) as the catalyst. The assay works based on the interaction between melamine and a reaction system of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and chromogenic substrate 2,2 2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and catalyzed by Fe 3 O 4 MNPs. Melamine is an inhibitor in this catalytic reaction causing a concentration-dependent decline of the colored product of the reaction between ABTS. The spectrophotometric measurement of the change in the color intensity at 417 nm is quantitative. The six samples of commercial milk powder were acquired and the applied methodology was employed to treat the melamine standard solutions and treat the milk samples to which various concentrations of melamine had been added to calculate the sensitivity and recovery of the method. The sensitivity of the results was very high and there was a distinct inverse colorimetric interaction that was directly proportional to the concentration of the added melamine. Recovery tests on spiked milk samples (e.g., 2 ) were astonishingly accurate with over 100 percent percentages of recovery and hence the data was confirmed on reliability of the method. The technique was subsequently used on milk samples that are commercially available and these established that melamine is present in the six samples that were studied. Though the detected concentrations can be inscribed in some of the regulatory limits, the prevalence of melamine raises deep concerns on whether further commercial adulteration can be done, hence raising the concerns concerning the safety and integrity of the local food products. This has acted as a successful, fast and cheaper process of carrying out routine screening and regulatory checks of melamine contamination.