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Updated: Jun 30, 2025

Author Spotlight: Engineering Molecular Tools for Disease Detection and Imaging
Published on: December 8, 2023
Meta-analysis guided development of a standard artificial urine
Kimberley A Noble1, Hayley K Y Chan1, Oisín N Kavanagh1
1School of Pharmacy, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Abstract:
In this study, we present the first meta-analysis of human urine reported in the literature, drawing data from a total of 35 articles with a combined participant count of 14,021. Through this analysis, we have developed an artificial urine (AU) composition that can be adjusted within typical physiological parameters for in vitro applications. Our findings demonstrate the utility of this AU in determining the solubility of nitrofurantoin, particularly in the context of crystalluria. Notably, we observe that in saline, nitrofurantoin solubility, within the framework of its urinary pharmacokinetics, suggests a risk of crystalluria. However, in AU, this risk is mitigated due to complexation with urea. More broadly, we anticipate that our developed formulation will serve as a foundation for translational studies across biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences.
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