A new method for quantification of melamine in milk by absorption diode-array thin-layer chromatography

Melamine (1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine or cyanuramide, C 3 H 6 N 6 ) is a trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-triazine skeleton (Figure 1). The molecule contains 66% nitrogen by mass and, if mixed with resins, has fire-retardant properties because it releases nitrogen gas when burned or charred. The word melamine (from German) is a combination of the word melam (which is a distillation derivative of ammonium thiocyanate) and amine [1]. Melamine is also a metabolite of cyromazine, an insecticide in which the proton of an NH 2 group is substituted by a cyclopropyl group.