Influence of urine pH on accurate urinary protein determination in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Background: Rat urinary protein concentration is commonly measured during safety assessment studies to evaluate potential drug-induced nephrotoxicity. It has been reported that impregnated reagent test strips (dipsticks) can yield false-positive urinary protein results for alkaline urine samples.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if urinary dipsticks accurately assess protein concentrations, especially in alkaline rat urine.