Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Sara Julio, Raquel A. Ferro, Susana Santos, Andrea Alexandre, Maria Joao Caldeira, Joao Franco, Mario Barroso, Helena Gaspar
Summary: Synthetic cathinones have become an important class of new psychoactive substances in the past 15 years, posing a serious threat to public health and challenges to forensic laboratories. This study aimed to synthesize emerging cathinones and develop an analytical method for their accurate determination in forensic situations. The results show that this method is selective, precise, and accurate, allowing the detection of these compounds even at low concentrations.
ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Cristian Suarez-Oubina, Ivan Alvarez-Freire, Pamela Cabarcos, Ana Maria Bermejo, Pilar Bermejo-Barrera, Antonio Moreda-Pineiro
Summary: The global market for new psychoactive substances (NPSs) is expanding, and the availability of drugs is increasing. Synthetic cannabinoids (SCRAs) are the largest group of NPSs and are often overlooked in illegal drug market control and toxicological-forensic analysis. Membrane-assisted solvent extraction (MASE) has been proposed as a method for extracting SCRAs from urine samples. The method was validated and found to be selective and sensitive, with low limits of quantification (LOQs).
ANALYTICAL METHODS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Richard Bade, Jason M. White, Jingjing Chen, Jose Antonio Baz-Lomba, Frederic Been, Lubertus Bijlsma, Daniel A. Burgard, Sara Castiglioni, Noelia Salgueiro-Gonzalez, Alberto Celma, Andrew Chappell, Erik Emke, Ruud Steenbeek, Degao Wang, Ettore Zuccato, Cobus Gerber
Summary: There is growing concern about the use of new psychoactive substances (NPS), with wastewater analysis proving to be an effective method for understanding the prevalence of NPS in communities. This study monitored NPS in 14 locations across eight countries, identifying 16 different substances with geographical variations.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Richard Bade, Geoff Eaglesham, Katja M. Shimko, Jochen Mueller
Summary: The growing NPS market poses challenges for public health officers, law enforcement, and chemists. The development of analytical methods is hindered by the low doses, unknown metabolism, and diverse chemical classes of NPS. This study presents a direct injection method to quantify 32 NPS, demonstrating its validity and identifying several NPS in wastewater samples from Australia.
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Maria Nieddu, Elena Baralla, Valeria Pasciu, Maria Grazia Rimoli, Gianpiero Boatto
Summary: The chemical modification of psychoactive substances is a common practice in the illicit drugs market, leading to the production of designer drugs with similar or greater effects. However, the available immunoassays for amphetamine derivatives are unable to detect various analogues, resulting in potential false-negative results. This review emphasizes the need for more comprehensive screening immunoassays to analyze biological samples for designer drugs.
JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND BIOMEDICAL ANALYSIS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Marcello Locatelli, Angela Tartaglia, Halil Ulusoy, Songul Ulusoy, Fabio Savini, Sandra Rossi, Francesco Santavenere, Giuseppe M. Merone, Elisa Bassotti, Cristian D'Ovidio, Enrica Rosato, Kenneth G. Furton, Abuzar Kabir
Summary: This study introduces an innovative device for noninvasive sampling and chromatographic analysis of compounds in exhaled breath aerosol, combining the advantages of FPSM sampling device with LC-MS/MS screening procedure. The approach allows for rapid screening analyses for human exposure to different compounds, providing a powerful and green tool.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Sampsa Kohtala, Tonje Marie Vikene Nedal, Carlo Kriesi, Siv Helen Moen, Qianli Ma, Kristin Sirnes Odegaard, Therese Standal, Martin Steinert
Summary: This study presents an efficient and reliable method to quantify human osteoclasts using machine learning, avoiding the reliance on trained personnel in traditional methods.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Hematology
Johnny N. Mahlangu, Jose Luis Lamas, Juan Cristobal Morales, Daniel R. Malan, Silva Zupancic Salek, Michael Wang, Lisa N. Boggio, Inga Hegemann, Andrzej Mital, Matthew Cardinal, Tong Zhu, Pengling Sun, Steven Arkin
Summary: This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of marstacimab, a human monoclonal antibody targeting tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), in patients with hemophilia A or B. The results showed a significant reduction in annualized bleeding rates (ABRs) during treatment with marstacimab, along with significant changes in pharmacodynamic biomarkers across all dose cohorts. The drug was safe and well tolerated in the study.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Sultan Aitekenov, Abduzhappar Gaipov, Rostislav Bukasov
Summary: Patients with high protein concentration in urine are prone to various kidney diseases, known as proteinuria, and urinary protein biomarkers play a vital role in diagnosing a range of health conditions. Different techniques provide unique information on urine constituents, with mass spectrometry being a powerful tool for biomarker discovery and analysis, despite its high costs.
Article
Electrochemistry
Larissa M. A. Melo, Lucas V. de Faria, Luciano C. Arantes, Marian Vojs, Marian Marton, Ricardo F. Brocenschi, Eduardo M. Richter, Rodrigo A. A. Munoz, Wallans T. P. dos Santos
Summary: A new forensic application using a lab-made screen-printed sensor for the detection of synthetic cathinones (SCs) is presented. The electrochemical behavior of N-ethylpentylone (NEP) and its detection in forensic samples are studied. The sensor is versatile, robust, low-cost, and requires a small sample volume for analysis. The results show that the proposed method using the sensor provides highly selective and sensitive detection of NEP, making it a useful tool for on-site forensic analysis.
ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Andre Niebel, Fritz Pragst, Franziska Krumbiegel, Sven Hartwig
Summary: The study found a high prevalence of new psychoactive substances in families with known or suspected abuse of conventional illegal drugs. Retesting hair samples enabled an impression of the relative high prevalence of these substances despite limitations in quantitative assessments.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Vera Lukic, Ruzica Micic, Biljana Arsic, Bojan Nedovic, Zivana Radosavljevic
Summary: Misuse of psychoactive substances is a growing concern, particularly among young people who lack awareness of the harmful effects of these substances. Easy access to illicit drugs and limited screening methods have contributed to the rise in usage. Research indicates that drug use can have negative psychological and physiological effects on health.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Duo Zhang, Panithi Saktrakulkla, Kristopher Tuttle, Rachel F. Marek, Hans-Joachim Lehmler, Kai Wang, Keri C. Hornbuckle, Michael W. Duffel
Summary: A sensitive and specific method has been developed for determination of PCB sulfates in human serum, with identification of multiple PCB sulfate congeners in a pooled sample, three of which exhibited the highest concentrations. The method involves extraction, analysis, and quantitation of PCB sulfates from serum, demonstrating its efficacy and potential for further toxicological studies.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Eva Greibe, Claus Ernst Moser, Niels Eske Bruun, Elke Hoffmann-Lucke
Summary: We developed simple and rapid HPLC methods for quantification of amoxicillin and clindamycin in human plasma. The methods showed good linearity, precision, and accuracy, making them suitable for routine use and clinical studies.
JOURNAL OF ANTIMICROBIAL CHEMOTHERAPY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Heather A. Leslie, Martin J. M. van Velzen, Sicco H. Brandsma, A. Dick Vethaak, Juan J. Garcia-Vallejo, Marja H. Lamoree
Summary: Plastic particles are widespread pollutants in the environment and food chain, and this study successfully developed a method to measure the presence of plastic particles in human blood. The study found four high production volume polymers in blood samples and demonstrated that plastic particles can be taken up by the human bloodstream.
ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Substance Abuse
Nathan C. Stam, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Jennifer L. Pilgrim, Karen Smith, Lauren Moran, Sarah Parsons, Olaf H. Drummer
Review
Toxicology
Nathan C. Stam, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Karen Smith, Jennifer L. Pilgrim, Olaf H. Drummer
CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY
(2019)
Review
Medicine, Legal
Olaf H. Drummer, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Noel W. Woodford
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2019)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Matthew DiRago, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Carla Morris, Tania Fredericksen, Noel W. Woodford, Olaf H. Drummer
Summary: This study found a significant prevalence of alcohol and drugs in injured drivers taken to Victorian hospitals, with methylamphetamine and THC being the most commonly detected substances.
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Matthew Di Rago, Supranee Pantatan, Melynda Hargreaves, Katherine Wong, Dylan Mantinieks, Alex Kotsos, Linda Glowacki, Olaf H. Drummer, Dimitri Gerostamoulos
Summary: The described procedure provides a rapid technique for the detection and semi-quantitation of a large number of drugs in blood. A total of 327 of the most commonly used medicinal and illicit drugs in Australia were selected for testing, including various types of synthetic cannabinoids and other novel psychoactive substances.
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL TOXICOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Mark Chu, Matthew Di Rago, Dylan Mantinieks, Linda Glowacki, Noel W. Woodford, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Olaf H. Drummer
Summary: The study found significant increases in THC concentration in the early postmortem period, followed by a decline, although the median blood concentrations at autopsy were similar to that obtained antemortem. In contrast, when blood was taken from different sites like the femoral region, subclavian, and heart ventricles, the THC concentrations, while variable, showed overall no significant difference.
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL TOXICOLOGY
(2021)
Letter
Emergency Medicine
Mohamed Umar, Sarah Morey, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Anselm Wong
EMERGENCY MEDICINE AUSTRALASIA
(2020)
Letter
Chemistry, Analytical
Olaf H. Drummer, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Marc A. LeBeau, Fritz Pragst
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL TOXICOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Dylan Mantinieks, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Linda Glowacki, Matthew Di Rago, Jennifer Schumann, Noel W. Woodford, Olaf H. Drummer
Summary: Postmortem drug redistribution (PMR) is a well-known phenomenon in forensic toxicology. A retrospective compilation of PM/AM drug concentration ratios for 42 parent drugs and metabolites from 811 coronial cases showed varying trends, with antidepressants demonstrating PMR, benzodiazepines showing lower ratios, and antipsychotics displaying mixed effects of PMR and drug instability.
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL TOXICOLOGY
(2021)
Letter
Toxicology
Sam Chieng, Saada Malouf, Anselm Wong, Rahul Pinto-Costa, Rinaldo Bellomo, Dimitri Gerostamoulos
CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Substance Abuse
Milly Bishop, Jennifer L. Schumann, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Anselm Wong
Summary: The study demonstrated that upscheduling codeine-containing medicines to prescription-only has led to a significant decrease in codeine-related poisoning calls, overdoses, and deaths in Victoria, Australia.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
(2021)
Meeting Abstract
Toxicology
Milly Bishop, Jennifer Schumann, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Anselm Wong
CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ergonomics
Jennifer Schumann, Monica Perkins, Paul Dietze, Dhanya Nambiar, Biswadev Mitra, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Olaf H. Drummer, Peter Cameron, Karen Smith, Ben Beck
Summary: The study revealed that the presence of alcohol and other drugs in fatal road trauma in Victoria has shown specific changes over time, with a declining trend in alcohol positivity but increasing detection rates of stronger opioids and methylamphetamine. There are variations in drug detection rates among different road users, indicating a concerning trend in road safety.
ACCIDENT ANALYSIS AND PREVENTION
(2021)
Meeting Abstract
Toxicology
Anselm Wong, Mohamed Umar, Sarah Morey, Linda Glowacki, Dimitri Gerostamoulos
CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Ergonomics
Olaf H. Drummer, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Matthew Di Rago, Noel W. Woodford, Carla Morris, Tania Frederiksen, Kim Jachno, Rory Wolfe
ACCIDENT ANALYSIS AND PREVENTION
(2020)