Selective measurement of HCHO in urine using direct liquid-phase fluorimetric analysis

Quantification of formaldehyde (HCHO) in urine was recently shown to be a promising tool in the investigation of cancer, particularly bladder cancer. Development of a low-maintenance, inexpensive and rapid analyzer for HCHO in urine would greatly facilitate future research and the potential diagnosis of bladder cancer. We examine here the application of an off-the-shelf system, originally designed for gas-phase atmospheric monitoring of HCHO, for the quantification of HCHO in urine. Under strict dietary protocols, e.g., avoidance of foods rich in free or chemically bound HCHO, an increase in HCHO in urine is an indirect indicator of cancer in the urogenital system. The concentration of HCHO in urine samples from an individual over a several-month period was determined, with a range from 39 to 1400 microM and a mean of 600 microM. The limit of detection for the present method was 0.1 microM. The proposed technique provides a direct, low-cost and greatly simplified analytical method for the quantification of HCHO in urine compared to other available techniques.