A Model for Design and Implementation of a Laboratory Information-Management System Specific for Molecular Pathology Laboratory Operations.

The Molecular Pathology Section, Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH), has undergone enhancement of its testing portfolio and processes. An Excel 2013- and paper-based data-management system was replaced with a commercially available laboratory information-management system (LIMS) software application, a separate bioinformatics platform, customized test-interpretation applications, a dedicated sample-accessioning service, and a results-releasing software application. The customized LIMS solution manages complex workflows, large-scale data packets, and process automation.

Comparison of Purified β-glucuronidases in Patient Urine Samples Indicates a Lack of Correlation Between Enzyme Activity and Drugs of Abuse Metabolite Hydrolysis Efficiencies Leading to Potential False Negatives.

Pain management laboratories analyze biological fluids (urine, saliva or blood) from patients treated for chronic pain to ensure compliance and to detect undisclosed drug use. The quantitation of multi-panel drugs in urine and tissues utilizes β-glucuronidase to cleave the glucuronic acid and liberate the parent drug for mass spectrometry analysis. This work focuses on the comparison of three different, purified and commercially available β-glucuronidases across 83 patient urine samples.

Degradation of Opioids and Opiates During Acid Hydrolysis Leads to Reduced Recovery Compared to Enzymatic Hydrolysis.

Drug monitoring laboratories utilize a hydrolysis process to liberate the opiates from their glucuronide conjugates to facilitate their detection by tandem mass spectrometry (MS). Both acid and enzyme hydrolysis have been reported as viable methods, with the former as a more effective process for recovering codeine-6-glucuronide and morphine-6-glucuronide. Here, we report concerns with acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of opioids, including a significant loss of analytes and conversions of oxycodone to oxymorphone, hydrocodone to hydromorphone and codeine to morphine.