Does Cannabis Extract Obtained From Cannabis Flowers With Maximum Allowed Residual Level of Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin a Have an Impact on Human Safety and Health?

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the cannabis extract obtained from cannabis flowers that contain the maximum allowed level of mycotoxins affects human safety and health. For that purpose, a novel liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A (OchA) in cannabis extracts to demonstrate that this analytical method is suitable for the intended experimental design. Experimental design was done by adding maximum allowed concentration of aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, G2) and OchA according to the European Pharmacopeia related to cannabis flowers.

Importance of 6-Thioguanine Nucleotide Metabolite Monitoring in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients Treated with Azathioprine.

The active metabolite of azathioprine, 6-thioguanine nucleotide (6-TGN) is the main component responsible for the immunosuppressive effect in treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between the concentration of 6-thioguanine nucleotide and disease activity, azathioprine-related adverse effects and time duration of treatment in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Thirty-four patients were included in this study.

Evaluation of Correlation Between the Pharmacogenetic Profiles of Risperidone Treated Psychiatry Patients with Plasma and Urine Concentration of Risperidone and its Active Moiety 9-OH Risperidone Determined with Optimized Bioanalytical LC Method.

Atypical antipsychotic risperidone is widely used first-line monotherapy in schizophrenia and combined therapy in bipolar disorders. Therapeutic plasma concentrations of risperidone and its active moiety are directly influenced by genetic variations in metabolic CYP450 enzymes (CYP2D6 and CYP3A4/5) and transporter (ABCB1) protein and additional environmental factors. Since active metabolite 9-OH risperidone has a greater percentage of the pharmacologically active fraction and is equipotent to the parent drug risperidone, it is assumed that it contributes significantly to therapeutic and adverse effects.

High-Throughput HPLC-MS/MS Method for Quantification of Ibuprofen Enantiomers in Human Plasma: Focus on Investigation of Metabolite Interference.

In this research, as a part of the development of fast and reliable HPLC-MS/MS method for quantification of ibuprofen (IBP) enantiomers in human plasma, the possibility of IBP acylglucoronide (IBP-Glu) back-conversion was assessed. This involved investigation of in source and in vitro back-conversion. The separation of IBP enantiomers, its metabolite and rac-IBP-d3 (internal standard), was achieved within 6 min using Chiracel OJ-RH chromatographic column (150 × 2.

Development and validation of a bioanalytical LC-UV method with solid-phase extraction for determination of valproic acid in saliva.

A bioanalytical HPLC method with UV detection for the determination of the antiepileptic drug valproic acid in human saliva has been developed and validated. Saliva represents an alternative matrix for therapeutic monitoring of antiepileptic drugs due to the increasing interest in free drug concentration. The proposed method involved solid-phase extraction for sample preparation and yielded very good mean recoveries of 99.

Development of an ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC method with indirect UV detection for determination of phosphates and phosphites as impurities in sodium risedronate.

A method based on RP-HPLC with indirect UV detection was developed for the determination of phosphates and phosphites as impurities in sodium risedronate. RP separation of the phosphates and phosphites was achieved by adding tetrabutylammonium hydroxide as an ion-pairing agent in the mobile phase. Potassium hydrogen phthalate was added to the mobile phase as an ionic chromophore in order to obtain high background absorption of the mobile phase.

Studying the formation of aggregates in recombinant human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (rHuG-CSF), lenograstim, using size-exclusion chromatography and SDS-PAGE.

The stability of proteins is a subject of intense current interest. Aggregation, as a dominant degradation pathway for therapeutic proteins, may cause multiple adverse effects, including loss of efficacy and immunogenicity. In the present study, the formation of aggregates in lenograstim under physiological conditions was monitored.

Formulation and evaluation of diazepam hydrogel for rectal administration.

Diazepam (DZP) has become a commonly used drug for treatment of acute repetitive epileptic seizures and febrile convulsions in children. Considering the advantages of rectal administration of DZP, the objective of our study was to formulate and evaluate rectal hydrogels containing DZP as a drug substance in combination with suitable co-solvents and preservatives. Prepared HPMC (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose) hydrogels containing different concentrations of DZP (2, 4 and 6 mg mL(-1)) manifested good quality in respect to physico-chemical parameters (pH value, drug content, ingredients content and viscosity), antimicrobial efficiency and microbiological quality.