3D imaging of enzymes working in situ.

Today, development of slowly digestible food with positive health impact and production of biofuels is a matter of intense research. The latter is achieved via enzymatic hydrolysis of starch or biomass such as lignocellulose. Free label imaging, using UV autofluorescence, provides a great tool to follow one single enzyme when acting on a non-UV-fluorescent substrate.

Renal excretion profiles of psilocin following oral administration of psilocybin: a controlled study in man.

In a clinical study eight volunteers received psilocybin (PY) in psychoactive oral doses of 212+/-25 microg/kg body weight. To investigate the elimination kinetics of psilocin (PI), the first metabolite of PY, urine was collected for 24 h and PI concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with column switching and electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD). Sample workup included protection of the unstable PI with ascorbic acid, freeze-drying, and extraction with methanol.

Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of intravenously, orally and rectally administered diacetylmorphine in opioid dependents, a two-patient pilot study within a heroin-assisted treatment program.

Objective: The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of high-dose intravenous (i.v.), oral and rectal diacetylmorphine (diamorphine, heroin, DAM) preparations were compared.

High-performance liquid chromatographic monitoring of intravenously administered diacetylmorphine and morphine and their metabolites in human plasma.

A rapid and selective reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic assay with gradient elution and diode-array detection for diacetylmorphine, morphine, codeine, and their free and glucuronidated metabolites in plasma, was developed. After addition of ethylmorphine as internal standard the plasma samples were extracted using C18 ODS-2 solid-phase columns with a recovery better than 80%. The limit of quantitation using an injection volume of 2 microl was 25 ng/ml for each compound.

Determination of psilocin and 4-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid in plasma by HPLC-ECD and pharmacokinetic profiles of oral and intravenous psilocybin in man.

In order to investigate the pharmacokinetic properties of psilocybin (PY), the main psychoactive compound of Psilocybe mushrooms, high performance liquid chromatographic procedures with column-switching coupled with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) for reliable quantitative determination of the PY metabolites psilocin (PI) and 4-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (4HIAA) in human plasma were established. Sample work-up includes protection of the highly unstable phenolic analytes with ascorbic acid, freeze-drying and in-vitro microdialysis. The data of two controlled clinical studies with healthy volunteers are presented.

Analysis of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and its metabolites in plasma and urine by HPLC-DAD and GC-MS.

In Europe, the compound 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy, Adam), in addition to cannabis, is the most abused illicit drug at all-night "techno" parties. Methods for the determination of MDMA and its metabolites, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymethamphetamine (HMMA), 3,4-dihydroxy-methamphetamine (HHMA), 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyamphetamine (HMA), and 3,4-dihydroxyamphetamine (HHA), in biological fluids were established. Plasma and urine samples were collected from two patients in a controlled clinical study over periods of 9 and 22 h, respectively.

Determination of 18 beta-glycyrrhetinic acid in biological fluids from humans and rats by solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography.

Methods have been developed and characterized allowing rapid isolation and quantification of 18 beta-glycyrrhetinic acid (GRA) in biological fluids from both humans and rats. Sample preparation includes extraction with urea-methanol for plasma samples, and solid-phase extraction (SPE) for urine and bile samples. Hydrolysis of GRA glucuronides in urine and bile was performed by treatment with beta-glucuronidase.

Determination of morphine-3-glucuronide in human urine by capillary zone electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography.

Attempts to determine morphine-3-glucuronide (MO3G) by high-performance capillary electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography are reported. Using direct injection of urine, it was possible to achieve a limit of detection of about 20 micrograms/ml, which is poor compared with high-performance liquid chromatography and immunoassays. However, employing sample extraction with C8 cartridges, the presence of MO3G in urines that tested positive for opioids using a commercial enzyme-multiplied immunoassay technique could be successfully confirmed.

[Do all cases of trisomy 18 with long survival (beyond 10 years) show mosaicism in fibroblasts? (author's transl)].

Description of a young girl aged 16 1/2 years who presents the typical features of trisomy 18 : small height, microdolichocephaly, anti-mongoloid palpebral fissures, micrognathia, microstomia, arched palate, malformed ears, atrophy of thenars and hypothenars, clinodactyly of fifth fingers and abortive cutaneous syndactyly between IV and V. At the lower limbs, there is a shortening of the right leg, an atrophy of the calves, as well as genua valga and bilateral pes excavatus with dorsiflexion of the toes. The gait is rigid with enlarged basis of sustentation.