Insolubilization test of sodium chondroitin sulphate with a view to its use as colonic carrier of drugs.

Several studies have been devoted to cross-linked sodium chondroitin sulphate (SCS), in the context of numerous strategies attempting to target the colon for the absorption or the therapeutic action of a drug. SCS, a glycosaminoglycan presenting a specific degradation in the colon, is in fact soluble in water and its use as drug carrier at such a distance from the digestive tube necessitates its hydrophobisation. One method described in the literature consists in manufacturing a three-dimensional network by cross-linking with bifunctional compounds.

Determination of phloroglucinol in human plasma by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A specific and sensitive method has been developed for the determination of phloroglucinol in plasma; it involves an optimized procedure for blood sampling designed to minimize the in vitro oxidation of the molecule, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after silylation of the compound. The method allowed a reliable determination of phloroglucinol in plasma. The precision and accuracy of the assay, reported as coefficients of variation, were below 15%.