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Updated: Aug 27, 2025

Estimation of Urinary Nanocrystals in Humans using Calcium Fluorophore Labeling and Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis
Published on: February 9, 2021
Differential identification of urine crystals with morphologic characteristics and solubility test
A-Jin Lee1, Eun-Hyung Yoo1, Young-Cheol Bae2
1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Daegu Catholic University School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea.
Background:
Urinary crystals are the most diverse forms of urine sediments. Reference images for typical urinary crystals are common, however, but images for interpreting atypical urinary crystals are very rare. The authors reviewed various forms and solubility tests of urine crystals to interpret atypical crystals found in clinical specimens.
Methods:
We reviewed textbooks on urinary crystals and articles published in PubMed. Some atypical crystals were confirmed using a solubility test.
Results:
The classification, shape, chemical structure, and solubility of the crystals were summarized. In the solubility test, some crystals showed different results; therefore, a new solubility test was proposed based on the literature review. We presented various types of calcium oxalates.
Conclusions:
These review articles will be helpful in the examination of atypical crystals found in clinical specimens. The solubility test requires additional studies to discriminate the inconsistent results between the authors.
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