11-nor-Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid ethyl ester (THC-COOEt): unsuccessful search for a marker of combined cannabis and alcohol consumption.

11-Nor-Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid ethyl ester (THC-COOEt) can be presumed to be a mixed metabolite formed during combined consumption of cannabinoids and alcohol. In order to examine this hypothesis, THC-COOEt and its deuterated analogue D(3)-THC-COOEt were synthesized as reference substance and internal standard from the corresponding carboxylic acids and diazoethane and methods were developed for the sensitive detection of THC-COOEt in plasma and hair based on gas chromatography-electron impact mass spectrometry after silylation with N-methyl-N-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-trifluoroacetamide and gas chromatography-negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry (GC-NCI-MS) as well as tandem mass spectrometry (GC-NCI-MS-MS) after derivatization with pentafluoropropionyl anhydride. The methods were applied for THC-COOEt determination to plasma samples from 22 drunk driving cases which contained both ethanol (0.

Designer drugs 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromo-amphetamine (DOB) and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromo-methamphetamine (MDOB): studies on their metabolism and toxicological detection in rat urine using gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric techniques.

Studies are described on the metabolism and the toxicological analysis of the amphetamine-derived designer drug 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromo-amphetamine (DOB) and its corresponding N-methyl analogue 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromo-methamphetamine (MDOB) in rat urine using gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric techniques. The identified metabolites indicated that DOB was metabolized by O-demethylation followed by oxidative deamination to the corresponding ketone as well as deamination followed by reduction to the corresponding alcohol. Other metabolic pathways were O,O-bisdemethylation or hydroxylation of the side chain followed by O-demethylation and deamination to the corresponding alcohol.

Using the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) in a regional electronic patient record for patients with malignant diseases.

Communication between different institutions which are responsible for the treatment of the same patient is of outstanding significance, especially in the field of tumor diseases. Regional electronic patient records could support the co-operation of different institutions by providing ac-cess to all necessary information whether it belongs to the own institution or to a partner. The Department of Medical Informatics, University of Heidelberg is performing a project in co-operation with the Thoraxclinic-Heidelberg and the Department of Clinical Radiology, University of Heidelberg with the goal: to define an architectural concept for interlinking the electronic patient record of the two clinical institutions to build a common virtual electronic patient record and carry out an exemplary implementation, to examine composition, structure and content of medical documents for tumor patients with the aim of defining an XML-based markup language allowing summarizing overviews and suitable granularities, and to integrate clinical practice guidelines and other external knowledge with the electronic patient record using XML-technologies to support the physician in the daily decision process.

Screening method for seventy psychoactive drugs or drug metabolites in serum based on high-performance liquid chromatography--electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

A screening method for 70 psychoactive drugs or drug metabolites in human serum by solid-phase extraction with subsequent high-performance liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was developed. Enhanced selectivity of detection was obtained by collision-induced dissociation using two different skimmer voltages for the individual scan. The mass spectra and the retention times of the compounds were incorporated into a self-generated spectra library for identification in screening experiments.

HPLC analysis of tonka bean extracts.

Based on the results of GC-MS analysis, an HPLC procedure was developed for the determination of coumarin, dihydrocoumarin, melilotic acid (o-dihydrocoumaric acid), methyl melilotate, ethyl melilotate, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and o-coumaric acid which are characteristic compounds of tonka beans. The presence of melilotic acid and ethyl melilotate in tonka beans has not been reported previously. Following HPLC analysis of tonka bean extracts produced in the laboratory and one sample of commercially available tonka bean absolute, evidence was provided that solvents used for production are decisive for the kind and amount of the compounds detected.