Tissue extraction procedures

Extraction Exhaustive tissue extraction procedures are usually employed to isolate glycerolipids from biological matrices. Quantitative results can be achieved using the method of Bligh and Dyer (1959). 

The tissue to be analyzed is placed directiy onto the gel. Using the tissue itself and not tissue extracts has advanced the study of proteins that are difficult to extract from tissue, or are damaged by the extraction procedure. Dtif is an important advancement in the area of sample handling and appHcation where direct appHcation of a soHd to a gel matrix may actually enhance resolution. 

The ability to identify and quantify cyanobacterial toxins in animal and human clinical material following (suspected) intoxications or illnesses associated with contact with toxic cyanobacteria is an increasing requirement. The recoveries of anatoxin-a from animal stomach material and of microcystins from sheep rumen contents are relatively straightforward. However, the recovery of microcystin from liver and tissue samples cannot be expected to be complete without the application of proteolytic digestion and extraction procedures. This is likely because microcystins bind covalently to a cysteine residue in protein phosphatase. Unless an effective procedure is applied for the extraction of covalently bound microcystins (and nodiilarins), then a negative result in analysis cannot be taken to indicate the absence of toxins in clinical specimens. Furthermore, any positive result may be an underestimate of the true amount of microcystin in the material and would only represent free toxin, not bound to the protein phosphatases. Optimized procedures for the extraction of bound microcystins and nodiilarins from organ and tissue samples are needed. 

Methyl parathion was determined in dog and human serum using a benzene extraction procedure followed by GC/FID detection (Braeckman et al. 1980, 1983 DePotter et al. 1978). An alkali flame FID (nitrogen-phosphorus) detector increased the specificity of FID for the organophosphorus pesticides. The detection limit was in the low ppb (pg/L). In a comparison of rat blood and brain tissue samples analyzed by both GC/FPD and GC/FID, Gabica et al. (1971) found that GC/FPD provided better specificity. The minimum detectable level for both techniques was 3.0 ppb, but GC/FPD was more selective. The EPA-recommended method for analysis of low levels (<0.1 ppm) of methyl parathion in tissue, blood, and urine is GC/FPD for phosphorus (EPA 1980d). Methyl parathion is not thermally stable above 120 °C (Keith and Walters 1985). 

Using established extraction and cleanup methods, followed by GC/FPD and GC/thermionic detection, Carey et al. (1979) obtained detection limits in the ppb range and recoveries of 80-110% in soil and 70-100% in plant tissue. Good sensitivity and recovery were maintained in a simplified extraction procedure of sediments followed by GC/FPD analysis (Belisle and Swineford 1988). Bound methyl parathion residues that were not extracted with the usual methods were extracted using supercritical methanol by Capriel et al. (1986). They were able to remove 38% of the methyl parathion residues bound to soil, but 34% remained unextractable, and 28% could not be accounted for. 

The extraction of anthocyanins is the first step in the determination of both total and individual anthocyanins in any type of plant tissue. The choice of an extraction method is of great importance in the analysis of anthocyanins and largely depends on the purpose of the extraction, the nature of the anthocyanins, and the source material. A good extraction procedure should maximize anthocyanin recovery with... 

The confirmatory procedure should be developed for the same tissues for which the determinative procedure was developed, preferably using the same extraction procedure as used for the determinative portion of the method. Storage and stability data are necessary for dried or liquid sample extracts if MS analyses of the confirmatory samples are to be conducted in a laboratory other than the laboratory of sample preparation. Analytes present in sample extracts must be stable long enough for the samples to be shipped to the MS laboratory and analyzed. 

Specifically for triazines in water, multi-residue methods incorporating SPE and LC/MS/MS will soon be available that are capable of measuring numerous parent compounds and all their relevant degradates (including the hydroxytriazines) in one analysis. Continued increases in liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/API-MS/MS) sensitivity will lead to methods requiring no aqueous sample preparation at all, and portions of water samples will be injected directly into the LC column. The use of SPE and GC or LC coupled with MS and MS/MS systems will also be applied routinely to the analysis of more complex sample matrices such as soil and crop and animal tissues. However, the analyte(s) must first be removed from the sample matrix, and additional research is needed to develop more efficient extraction procedures. Increased selectivity during extraction also simplifies the sample purification requirements prior to injection. Certainly, miniaturization of all aspects of the analysis (sample extraction, purification, and instrumentation) will continue, and some of this may involve SEE, subcritical and microwave extraction, sonication, others or even combinations of these techniques for the initial isolation of the analyte(s) from the bulk of the sample matrix. 

In general, the physical structure of the tissue must be broken down mechanically followed by an extraction procedure, before the sample can be analyzed. Homogenization using blenders, probe homogenizers, cell disrupters, sonicators, or pestle grinders is particularly useful for muscle, liver, and kidney samples. Regardless of the method used for tissue disruption, the pulse, volume of extraction solvent added, and temperature should be validated and standardized in order to ensure reproducible analytical results. During cell disruption, care should be taken to avoid heat build-up in the sample, because the analyte may be heat labile. 

Extraction Procedure. A flow chart of the isolation and identification procedure is presented in Figure 1. Field-grown rye ( Abruzzi, harvested at early flowering stage on March 24, 1983, from the Central Crops Research Station, Clayton, NC) was air-dried for 7 days. The tissue (150 g) was extracted with 3 L of distilled water for 10 hr with agitation. The extract was filtered through cheesecloth and then centrifuged at 28,000 x g for 20 min. The supernatant was reduced in volume to 300 ml jim vacuo at 50°C. Sixty ml of the concentrated aqueous extract was dried in vacuo, the residue extracted with 20 ml of methanol and filtered. The metha-nolic extract was stored at 0°C until use. 

In a sense, therefore, there have been two conflicting views with respect to the suitability of formalin as a fixative, in the face of demands that biopsy tissues may be examined not only by traditional morphologic methods, but also by IHC, in situ hybridization (ISFI) and, following extraction procedures, by other molecular methods. Both views recognize that these newer methods do not perform well, or at all, on routinely processed FFPE tissues. One view advocates the development of new fixatives that are molecular friendly, the other view holds that AR-based methods may be employed to achieve accurate valid results of IHC, ISH, and other molecular methods using FFPE tissues. 

Some methods are available for determining -hexane in urine and tissues. A modified dynamic headspace extraction method for urine, mother s milk, and adipose tissue has been reported (Michael et al. 1980). Volatiles swept from the sample are analyzed by capillary GC/FID. Acceptable recovery was reported for model compounds detection limits were not reported (Michael et al. 1980). A solvent extraction procedure utilizing isotope dilution followed by GC/MS analysis has been reported for tissues (White et al. 1979). Recovery was good (104%) and detection limits are approximately 100 ng/mL (White etal. 1979). 

The analysis of human plasma for acetaminophen, the active ingredient in some pain relievers, involves a unique extraction procedure. Small-volume samples (approximately 200 fiL) of heparinized plasma, which is plasma that is treated with heparin, a natural anticoagulant found in biological tissue, are first placed in centrifuge tubes and treated with 1 N HC1 to adjust the pH. Ethyl acetate is then added to extract the acetaminophen from the samples. The tubes are vortexed, and after allowed to separate, the ethyl acetate layer containing the analyte is decanted. The resulting solutions are evaporated to dryness and then reconstituted with an 18% methanol solution, which is the final sample preparation step before HPLC analysis. The procedure is a challenge because the initial sample size is so small. 

Several different types of electrodes have been used in this analysis. Conventionally, a platinum (Ft) electrode has been employed in ACh and Ch analysis. Yasumatsu and colleagues (1998) used this method to measure ACh and Ch in tissue extracts and microdialysates, achieving mean concentrations of 0.06 pmol/ 10 pi and 0.64 pmol/10 pi of preoptic or anterior hypothalamus dialysate respectively. Rakovska and colleagues (2003) also analyzed microdialysates with a similar procedure, achieving limits of detection of 500 finol for ACh and 250 finol for Ch. 

Another important application of cDNAs is to identify specific proteins in a tissue homogenate or tissue section. Since cDNAs undergo complementary base pairing, adding a radioactively labelled cDNA to a homogenate or tissue slice will bind it to the complementary sequence by a process of hybridization. Thus the amount of radioactive cDNA that hybridizes to the tissue or tissue extract is a measure of the amount of mRNA that is complementary to it. When this procedure is undertaken on slices of brain, it is known as in situ hybridization. In this way it is possible to determine the distribution of specific receptors in a tissue by accurately determining the distribution of mRNA that encodes for the receptor protein. This is a particularly valuable technique for the administration of psychotropic drugs. 

The specimen will be the basis for the analytic analysis. Is it RNA or DNA What is the origin of the tissue Amniocentesis Was it a spontaneous product of conception Were anatomic pathology slides or tissue blocks prepared Are cell lines involved Are these primary or immortalized Was a chorionic villus sampling procedure done Is the sample properly collected peripheral blood The answers to each of these questions should be noted, and considered part of the validation of a useful nucleic acid extraction method. A molecular diagnostics laboratory should adhere to the highest standards in providing services, and prior validation of applicable nucleic acid extraction procedures is a must to ensure high-quality service. 

This procedure has been developed for quantification of the three types of macromolecules in tissue extracts, where other hiomolecules are also present. Small dissolved amounts of DNA, RNA, or protein, especially when no material should be consumed and no interfering substances are in the solution, maybe estimated by UV photometry, but a discrimination between DNA and RNA is impossible by reading absorbencies (cf. Protocol 1.2.5). 

When samples are received in the laboratory, they are often first treated by various extraction procedures to separate any chemicals from the original fluid or tissue. The extract is then analyzed by screening or confirmatory procedures. 

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