Instantaneous monitoring of free sarin in whole blood by dry blood spot-thermal desorption-GC-FPD/MS analysis.

Dry blood spot (DBS), a micro whole-blood sampling technique, enables rapid and self-blood collection; it is stable and economical. Currently, DBS filters require various sample preparation procedures specifically tailored for the target compounds, which are followed by GC-MS or LC-MS analysis. However, the small amounts of blood make the approach analytically challenging, mostly in terms of sensitivity and quantification.

Rapid and sensitive identification of ricin in environmental samples based on lactamyl agarose beads using LC-MS/MS (MRM).

Ricin, a plant-derived toxin extracted from the seeds of Ricinus communis (castor bean plant), is one of the most toxic proteins known. Ricin's high toxicity, widespread availability, and ease of its extraction make it a potential agent for bioterrorist attacks. Most ricin detection methods are based on immunoassays.

Capillary microextraction of volatiles device for enhanced BTEX vapors sampling based on a phenyl modified PDMS sol-gel adsorption phase.

A novel phenyl modified PDMS (PhPDMS) sol-gel adsorption phase was developed for use with the capillary microextraction of volatiles (CMV) device, and determined to provide significant enhancement in BTEX recoveries when sampling trace (ng) amounts of these volatiles at ambient conditions. The previously reported reusable PDMS-CMV device has been demonstrated to rapidly and efficiently extract target compound's vapors in forensic and environmental applications. An improved recovery for VOCs was achieved with a cryofocusing system while extracting at -10 C, but it was found to be impractical for field sampling.

Optimization of SNAP-25-derived peptide substrate for improved detection of botulinum A in the Endopep-MS assay.

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are the most toxic proteins in nature. Endopeptidase-mass-spectrometry (Endopep-MS) is used as a specific and rapid in-vitro assay to detect BoNTs. In this assay, immunocaptured toxin cleaves a serotype-specific-peptide-substrate, and the cleavage products are then detected by MS.

Early, Real-Time Medical Diagnosis of Botulism by Endopeptidase-Mass Spectrometry.

Botulinum toxin was detected in patient serum using Endopeptidase-mass-spectrometry assay, although all conventional tests provided negative results. Antitoxin was administered, resulting in patient improvement. Implementing this highly sensitive and rapid assay will improve preparedness for foodborne botulism and deliberate exposure.