A convenient sampling and noninvasive dried spot method of uric acid in human saliva: Comparison of serum uric acid value and salivary uric acid in healthy volunteers and hyperuricemia patients.

ABSTRACT

Concentration of uric acid (UA) in serum is one of the markers used to diagnose gout and hyperuricemia. However, serum treatment and storage are cumbersome, and wounds are susceptible to infection. Therefore, a new sampling and analysis method using noninvasive biological samples has been developed, called the dried spot method of UA in human saliva (DSM-UHS). Saliva (5 µL) was dropped on filter paper (a spot with a diameter of 5 mm) containing hypoxanthine (IS) (5 µL) and dried at room temperature for 30 min. The filter paper was immersed in 200 µL of lithium carbonate solution and shaken in a block bath shaker for 5 min at 30 °C. Afterward, the extraction was concentrated and reconstituted with 100 µL of lithium carbonate solution analyzed by HPLC-UV. When comparing the concentration of UA in the human saliva of hyperuricemia patients (HPs) and with that of healthy volunteers (HVs), we observed the concentration of UA was higher in the HPs than in the HVs (p < 0.0001). In addition, the results showed a significant linear relationship between the content of UA in saliva and the content of UA in the serum (r = 0.6243). The content of UA in human saliva could indirectly reflect the content of UA in human serum. Then DSM-UHS could be used to determine the content of UA in the saliva of HVs and HPs. This study provides a new research method and strategy for the determination of human UA content and the clinical prewiring of hyperuricemia.