New Colorimetric Reaction for End-Point, Continuous-Flow, and Kinetic Measurement of Urea

Abstract A reaction of urea, o-phthalaldehyde and N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine is described for measurement of urea by manual, continuous-flow, and kinetic methods. The continuous-flow system requires 25 µl of sample; 40 samples can be analyzed per hour. The kinetic method requires no enzymes, has no lag phase, and has good sensitivity. A major advantage of the reaction is that it occurs at a temperature of 37 °C or lower. The results obtained by all three methods agree well with those for a continuous-flow procedure in which diacetyl is a reagent.