Fioravanti A, Flaviani M, Gambelunghe C, Micheletti A, Sposito M, Rufini S
Department of Clinical Medicine, Pathology and Pharmacology, University of Perugia, Italy.
J Chromatogr B Biomed Sci Appl. 1997 Dec 5;703(1-2):263-6. doi: 10.1016/s0378-4347(97)00416-7.
Described is a method for the determination of orotic acid as its methyl ester in human urine. The method involves the use of solid-phase extraction to isolate pyrimidines from urine and derivatization with methanol and sulfuric acid, followed by isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography on a reversed-phase C18 column with UV absorbance detection. The assay is shown to be sufficiently sensitive for use in clinical investigations where elevated orotic acid excretion is suspected.