METHOD FOR DETERMINING MELANINE OF HORNY LAYER

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply, correctly detect melamine of the skin by transferring horny layer cells of the skin to a double-sided tape attached to one face of a transparent plate, dyeing and determining the cells. SOLUTION: An adhesive plate obtained by attaching a double-sided tape to one face of a transparent plate is brought in tight contact with a skin surface, whereby horny layer cells of the skin surface are transferred to an adhesive face. The transparent plate is a glass plate, a polyethylene plate or the like which is insoluble to an organic solvent. The glass plate having a superior transparency is preferred and formed in a size and a shape nearly close to a slide glass not obstructing a microscopic observation. An adhesive of the double-sided tape is preferably a rubber substance such as a natural rubber, a tragacanth gum or the like in terms of a separation easiness when the tape is separated from the skin. The double-sided tape is smaller than a plane of the transparent plate, has a size enabling a quantity of the horny layer cells sufficient for the microscopic observation to be transferred and is formed of cellophane, a fluororesin or the like. The horny layer cells transferred onto the transparent plate are dyed and a quantity of a dyed melamine per unit area of the horny layer cells is determined on the transparent plate.