Simple and rapid system for screening andidentification of reducing sugars in urine

A procedure for the analysis of sugars of clinical interest in samples of urine impregnated on Whatman 3MM paper is described. The sugars are eluted from the sample and spotted directly on to the application zone of concentration-zone silica gel plates, followed by continuos development. The optinal composition of the eluent and developing solvent and the optimal development distance were established, together with the development time and its influence on the R_F values. The locating reaction is based on the reduction of vanadium(V) to vanadium(IV) in acidic medium.

Urinary orotic acid is believed to be a valuable probe for early diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism leading to hyperammonemia and increased pyrimidine synthesis.

For the purpose of our urinary mass screening programme, we developed an automated colorimetric method which is reliable in the range of 1 to 50 μg/ml orotic acid and allows analyses at a rate of 160 samples per hour.

Preliminary results are presented which illustrate that various disorders can be recognized by measuring orotic acid in urine.