Ultraviolet-Visible and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for the Identification of Cyclopropyl-Fentanyl in the First Fatal Case in Spain.

Here we report the identification and quantitation of cyclopropyl-fentanyl in a fatality casework occurred due to a poly-drug toxicity in Spain in December 2017. The cyclopropyl-fentanyl was identified in non-biological (paraphernalia) and biological samples (whole-blood, vitreous humor and urine). Conventional techniques (GC-MS) and the UV-Vis spectral allowed differencing between the two structural isomer compounds of fentanyl (cyclopropyl and crotonyl) when the CRM was not available at the laboratory.

Stimulatory effect of xenin-8 on insulin and glucagon secretion in the perfused rat pancreas.

Xenin is a 25-amino acid peptide of the neurotensin/xenopsin family identified in gastric mucosa as well as in a number of tissues, including the pancreas of various mammals. In healthy subjects, plasma xenin immunoreactivity increases after meals. Infusion of the synthetic peptide in dogs evokes a rise in plasma insulin and glucagon levels and stimulates exocrine pancreatic secretion.

Interrelationship among insulin, glucagon and somatostatin secretory responses to exendin-4 in the perfused rat pancreas.

We have investigated the effect of exendin-4 on insulin, glucagon and somatostatin output in the perfused rat pancreas. At 9 mM glucose, exendin-4 potentiated the insulin and somatostatin responses to arginine and reduced the glucagon response to this amino acid. Thus, this reduction might be thought to be paracrine-mediated through the concomitant increase in insulin and somatostatin concentrations.