Performance of an on-site urine multidrug test used by forensic physicians in determining the cause of death.

Forensic physicians in the region of Amsterdam routinely collect blood and urine samples during external examinations. A rapid on-site multidrug test is used to screen the urine samples for the presence of commonly used drugs classes. Urine and blood samples are sent to the laboratory for additional toxicological analysis.

An anti-nicotinic cognitive challenge model using mecamylamine in comparison with the anti-muscarinic cognitive challenge using scopolamine.

Aims: The muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist scopolamine is often used for proof-of-pharmacology studies with pro-cognitive compounds. From a pharmacological point of view, it would seem more rational to use a nicotinic rather than a muscarinic anticholinergic challenge to prove pharmacology of a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist. This study aims to characterize a nicotinic anticholinergic challenge model using mecamylamine and to compare it to the scopolamine model.

An UPLC-MS detection method for the quantification of five antibiotics in human plasma.

Background: An UPLC-MS detection method for the quantification of amikacin, flucloxacillin, meropenem, penicillin G and vancomycin was developed and validated.

Results: The calibration curves were found to be linear from 0.47 to 50 mg/l for amikacin, 1.

Haematocrit corrected analysis of creatinine in dried blood spots through potassium measurement.

We developed a method for the analysis of creatinine in dried blood spot (DBS) samples to facilitate monitoring of renal function in combination with TDM of immunosuppressive drugs for transplant patients outside the hospital. An 8-mm disc of the DBS was punched, extracted and followed by LC-MS/MS analysis. The haematocrit proved to have a significant influence on the analysis of creatinine in DBS samples.

Therapeutic drug monitoring by dried blood spot: progress to date and future directions.

This article discusses dried blood spot (DBS) sampling in therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). The most important advantages of DBS sampling in TDM are the minimally invasive procedure of a finger prick (home sampling), the small volume (children), and the stability of the analyte. Many assays in DBS have been reported in the literature over the previous 5 years.

Clinical validation of dried blood spot sampling in therapeutic drug monitoring of ciclosporin A in allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients: direct comparison between capillary and venous sampling.

Background: The immunosuppressive drug ciclosporin A has a narrow therapeutic window and a large inter- and intraindividual pharmacokinetic variability. Therapeutic drug monitoring of ciclosporin is usually performed in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid blood, obtained by venous sampling. Dried blood spot sampling (DBS) could be a useful alternative sampling method, which also easily allows multiple sampling, for example, for obtaining area under the curve.

Rapid quantification of gabapentin, pregabalin, and vigabatrin in human serum by ultraperformance liquid chromatography with mass-spectrometric detection.

Background: Gabapentin (GBP), pregabalin (PRG), and vigabatrin (VIG) are used for the prevention and treatment of epileptic seizures. The developed method was applied to samples from subjects participating in a pharmacokinetic study of GBP.

Methods: Sample pretreatment consisted of adding 20 μL of trichloroacetic acid (30%; vol/vol) and 200 μL of GBP-d4 in acetonitrile as an internal standard to 20 μL of serum.

Inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin reduces epileptogenesis and blood-brain barrier leakage but not microglia activation.

Purpose: Previous studies have shown that inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway with rapamycin prevents epileptogenesis after pharmacologically induced status epilepticus (SE) in rat models of temporal lobe epilepsy. Because rapamycin is also known for its immunosuppressant properties we hypothesized that one of the mechanisms by which it exerts this effect could be via suppression of brain inflammation, a process that has been suggested to play a major role in the development and progression of epilepsy.

Methods: Rats were treated with rapamycin or vehicle once daily for 7 days (6 mg/kg/day, i.

Validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy method for the simultaneous quantification of four antimycotic agents in human serum.

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of voriconazole, fluconazole, posaconazole, itraconazole, and hydroxyitraconazole in human serum. A simple protein precipitation was used as sample pretreatment with ketoconazole as the internal standard. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Waters Alliance 2795 liquid chromatography system using a XBridge RP18 column.