Study on nano- and microcrystallites in urines of uric acid stone patients

摘要

The presence of crystallites in urine is closely related to stones formation. In this article, the components, morphology of nano- and micro-crystallites in urines of 20 uric acid (UA) stone formers as well as their relationship with the formation of UAstones were comparatively studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The main constituent of urinary crystallites was uric acid. Their particle size distribution was highly uneven, ranging from several nanometers to several tens of micrometers, and obvious aggregation was observed. These results showed that there was close relationship among stone components, urinary crystallites composition and urine pH.