Analysis body fluids

W. Thomann, C. X. Zhang and A. Schmutz, Capillai y electi ophoi esis foi ding analysis in body fluids , Ther. Drug Monit. 18 506-520 (1996). 

The true reaction sequences that will be described in Volume 1 c are frequently used in toxicological analysis, since the unequivocal identification of medicaments, intoxicants and addictive drugs in body fluids almost always requires the simultaneous detection of many possible substances with completely different chemical characteristics. For... 

Affinity chromatography (12) has become an important tool in the isolation of purified fractions of such substances as enzymes. Advantage is taken of specific interactions such as antigen-antibody interactions. One substance of the pair (e.g. antigen) is bonded to a support. When a mixture is passed through the column, the specific interaction retains the corresponding antibody relative to other substances. A change of mobile phase conditions then elutes the pure antibody. This method has a real potential for analysis of specific proteins in body fluids. 

Aqueous standard solutions are a source of certain difficulties In electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry of trace metals In biological fluids The viscosities and surface tensions of aqueous standard solutions are substantially less than the viscosities and surface tensions of serum, blood and other proteln-contalnlng fluids These factors Introduce volumetric disparities In pipetting of standard solutions and body fluids, and also cause differences In penetration of these liquids Into porous graphite tubes or rods Preliminary treatment of porous graphite with xylene may help to minimize the differences of liquid penetration (53,67) A more satisfactory solution of this problem Is preparation of standards In aqueous solutions of metal-free dextran (50-60 g/llter), as first proposed by Pekarek et al ( ) for the standardization of serum chromium analyses This practice has been used successfully by the present author for standardization of analyses of serum nickel The standard solutions which are prepared In aqueous dextran resemble serum In regard to viscosity and surface tension Introduction of dextran-contalnlng standard solutions Is an Important contribution to electrothermal atomic absorption analysis of trace metals In body fluids. 

As described for the analysis of the plant, GC, HPLC, and immimoassays are commonly used for the analysis of body fluids. Although the general proced-... 

Grootveld, M.C., Herz, H., Haywood, R, Hawkes, G.E., Naughton, D., Perera, A., Knappitt, J., Blake, D.R. and Claxson A.W.D. (1994). Multicomponent analysis of radio-lytic products in human body fluids using high field proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscoopy. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 43, 445-453. 

Oda RP, Clark R, Katzman JA, Landers JP (1997) Capillary electrophoresis as a clinical tool for the analysis of protein in serum and other body fluids. Electrophoresis 18 1715-1723. 

The literature includes a number of mis-matches, the following standing as examples for the many The use of bovine liver and other animal tissues for QC in the analysis of hmnan body fluids should not be considered by analysts. The matrix and the levels of trace elements do not match the levels to be analyzed, which may lead to serious errors. An even more severe mis-use was recently reported by Schuhma-cher et al. (1996) for NIST SRM 1577a Bovine Liver, which was used for QC in the analysis of trace elements in plant materials and soil samples in the vicinity of a municipal waste incinerator. Also recently, Cheung and Wong (1997) described how the quality control for the analysis of trace elements in clams (shellfish) and sediments was performed with the same material NIST SRM 1646, Estuarine sediment. Whilst the selected SRM was appropriate for sediments, its usefulness as a QC tool for clams is difficult to prove see also Chapter 8. This inappropriate use is the more mystifying because a broad selection of suitable shellfish RMs from various producers is available. 

The prerequisite that the laboratory chosen to conduct the ILV trials must not be involved in the method development and/or in its subsequent use is not applicable for multi-methods. If the applicability of a multi-method is published in an official manual, an ILV is not obligatory for this particular a.i. ILV is always required for single methods. Communications between the chosen laboratory and the method developers must be reported, provided that these communications were required to carry out the analysis successfully. Also, any subsequent amendments or modifications to the original method must be reported. Furthermore, the ILV report must contain a statement as to the applicability of the method. In contrast, it is not necessary to confirm fhe resulfs of fhe enforcement methods for soil, water, body fluids, tissues, and air by an independent laboratory validation. 

Analytical studies in clinical chemistry relating to the determination of methylxanthines are concentrated in two areas. The first of these involves the analysis of various ethical pharmaceuticals. The second area involves the analysis of various body fluids for methylxanthines and their metabolites. 

In the clinical area, the largest share of analytical methods development and publication has centered on the determination of theophylline in various body fluids, since theophylline is used as a bronchodilator in asthma. Monitoring serum theophylline levels is much more helpful than monitoring dosage levels.44 Interest in the assay of other methylxanthines and their metabolites has been on the increase, as evidenced by the citations in the literature with a focus on the analysis of various xanthines and methylxanthines. 

The greatest area of applications of this type of ECL has been in the analysis of pharmaceutical compounds with amine functionality. The reader is directed toward the previously mentioned review articles and Table 1 for further details [12, 14-16], Many methods have also been successfully applied to real samples in the form of body fluids or pharmaceutical preparations, although sample pretreatment such as deproteinization, centrifugation, and neutralization followed by a chromatographic step to remove interfering species is often required. Limits of detection are typically in the range 10-9—10 12 M. Figure 4 shows examples of some classes of pharmaceutical compounds that have been determined by Ru(bpy)32+ ECL. 

The technique is used predominantly for the isolation of a single chemical species prior to a determination and to a lesser extent as a method of concentrating trace quantities. The most widespread application is in the determination of metals as minor and trace constituents in a variety of inorganic and organic materials, e g. the selective extraction and spectrometric determination of metals as coloured complexes in the analysis of metallurgical and geological samples as well as for petroleum products, foodstuffs, plant and animal tissue and body fluids. 

Flame emission spectrometry is used extensively for the determination of trace metals in solution and in particular the alkali and alkaline earth metals. The most notable applications are the determinations of Na, K, Ca and Mg in body fluids and other biological samples for clinical diagnosis. Simple filter instruments generally provide adequate resolution for this type of analysis. The same elements, together with B, Fe, Cu and Mn, are important constituents of soils and fertilizers and the technique is therefore also useful for the analysis of agricultural materials. Although many other trace metals can be determined in a variety of matrices, there has been a preference for the use of atomic absorption spectrometry because variations in flame temperature are much less critical and spectral interference is negligible. Detection limits for flame emission techniques are comparable to those for atomic absorption, i.e. from < 0.01 to 10 ppm (Table 8.6). Flame emission spectrometry complements atomic absorption spectrometry because it operates most effectively for elements which are easily ionized, whilst atomic absorption methods demand a minimum of ionization (Table 8.7). 

Atomic absorption spectrometry is one of the most widely used techniques for the determination of metals at trace levels in solution. Its popularity as compared with that of flame emission is due to its relative freedom from interferences by inter-element effects and its relative insensitivity to variations in flame temperature. Only for the routine determination of alkali and alkaline earth metals, is flame photometry usually preferred. Over sixty elements can be determined in almost any matrix by atomic absorption. Examples include heavy metals in body fluids, polluted waters, foodstuffs, soft drinks and beer, the analysis of metallurgical and geochemical samples and the determination of many metals in soils, crude oils, petroleum products and plastics. Detection limits generally lie in the range 100-0.1 ppb (Table 8.4) but these can be improved by chemical pre-concentration procedures involving solvent extraction or ion exchange. 

It may be determined by various chemical methods, but its analysis in body fluids lends itself to a microbiological assay method. 

There are medical tests to determine whether you have been exposed to chlordecone and/or its breakdown product, chlordecone alcohol. Levels of chlordecone and/or chlordecone alcohol can be measured in blood, saliva, feces, or bile. Chlordecone levels in blood are the best indicator of exposure to chlordecone. Since chlordecone remains in the blood for a long time, the test is useful for a long time after exposure has stopped. Chlordecone can be detected in saliva only within the first 24 hours after exposure therefore, this test has limited use. Blood levels of chlordecone are a good reflection of total body content of chlordecone. However, the test is an unsatisfactory indicator of the amount of chlordecone to which you have been exposed because you cannot be sure how much chlordecone left your body between the time you were exposed and the time the test is performed. These tests cannot predict how your health may be affected after exposure. The tests are not done in routine medical examinations, but doctors can collect body fluid samples and send them to a university medical center or a medical laboratory for analysis. Refer to Chapters 2 and 6 for more information. 

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