Assessment of the degradation of denatured albumin solder by human urine.
OBJECTIVE
Several studies have been undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of human serum albumin (HSA) as a solder in urologic procedures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether albumin solder undergoes significant degradation in urine.


METHODS
Laser denatured 25% HSA pellets were incubated at 37C for varying times with 1 ml. of either pooled human urine or control diluent solution adjusted to the same pH and osmolality as urine. To assess the contribution of enzymatic degradation, aliquots of urine were boiled and compared with non-boiled urine and diluent. The amount of solubilized HSA in solution was measured using the Bradford assay, while the degradation of albumin was detected by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis.


RESULTS
Approximately 5% of the albumin was degraded over a period of 7 days following incubation at 37C, regardless of treatment. SDS-PAGE revealed only minor traces of degradation in urine and controls. The very slight degradation of denatured HSA appears to be non-enzymatic, as it was observed in both urine and diluent samples.


CONCLUSIONS
HSA solder appears to be appropriate for use in urologic reconstructive surgery since it is not appreciably degraded in the presence of urine.
Cuomo
B E
BE
Center for Pediatric Urology, Department of Urology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York 10021, USA.
Lauto
A
A
Kirman
I
I
Felsen
D
D
Poppas
D P
DP
D000418:Albumins / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*
D000418:Albumins