Determination of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid in human urine by capillary electrophoresis with indirect UV detection and confirmation with electrospray ionization ion-trap mass spectrometry

γ-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), a minor metabolite or precursor of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), acts as a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator via binding to GABA receptors and to specific presynaptic GHB receptors. Based upon the stimulatory effects, GHB is widely abused. Thus, there is great interest in monitoring GHB in body fluids and tissues. We have developed an assay for urinary GHB that is based upon liquid–liquid extraction and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with indirect UV absorption detection. The background electrolyte is composed of 4 mM nicotinic acid (compound for indirect detection), 3 mM spermine (reversal of electroosmosis) and histidine (added to reach a pH of 6.2). Having a 50 μm I.D. capillary of 40 cm effective length, 1-octanesulfonic acid as internal standard, solute detection at 214 nm and a diluted urine with a conductivity of 2.4 mS/cm, GHB concentrations ≥2 μg/ml can be detected. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) were determined to be dependent on urine concentration and varied between 2–24 and 5–60 μg/ml, respectively. Data obtained suggest that LOD and LOQ (both in μg/ml) can be estimated with the relationships 0.83 κ and 2.1 κ, respectively, where κ is the conductivity of the urine in mS/cm. The assay was successfully applied to urines collected after administration of 25 mg sodium GHB/kg body mass. Negative electrospray ionization ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry was used to confirm the presence of GHB in the urinary extract via selected reaction monitoring of the m/z 103.1→m/z 85.1 precursor–product ion transition. Independent of urine concentration, this approach meets the urinary cut-off level of 10 μg/ml that is required for recognition of the presence of exogenous GHB. Furthermore, data obtained with injection of plain or diluted urine indicate that CZE could be used to rapidly recognize GHB amounts (in μg/ml) that are ≥ 4 κ.     

Rovibrational Study of the CH(2) Wagging Fundamental of Monofluoroacetonitrile

The vapor-phase infrared spectrum of monofluoroacetonitrile (CH(2)FCN) has been recorded at high resolution in the nu(4) band region (1363-1398 cm(-1)) using a tunable diode laser spectrometer. A detailed assignment of the rotational structure of the expected a-/b-hybrid band has been made for a-type transitions with K(a)相似文献   

Spectroscopic investigation of fluoroiodomethane, CH2FI: Fourier-transform microwave and millimeter-/submillimeter-wave spectroscopy and quantum-chemical calculations

Guided by theoretical predictions, the rotational spectrum of fluoroiodomethane, CH(2)FI, has been recorded and assigned. Accurate values are reported for the ground-state rotational constants, all quartic, sextic, and two octic centrifugal-distortion constants. The hyperfine structure of the rotational spectrum was thoroughly investigated using a Fourier-transform microwave spectrometer and the Lamb-dip technique in the millimeter-/submillimeter-wave region, thus allowing the accurate determination of the complete iodine quadrupole-coupling tensor and of the diagonal elements of the iodine spin-rotation tensor. Relativistic effects turned out to be essential for the accurate theoretical prediction of the dipole moment and quadrupole-coupling constants and were accounted for by direct perturbation theory and a spin-free four-component treatment based on the Dirac-Coulomb Hamiltonian. The relativistic corrections to the dipole moment amount to up to 34% and to the iodine quadrupole-coupling tensor to about 15-16% of the total values.     

A Bionomic Approach to the Capacitated p-Median Problem

This paper advocates the use of the bionomic algorithm, a recently proposed metaheuristic technique, as an effective method to solve capacitated p-median problems (CPMP). Bionomic algorithms already proved to be an effective framework for finding good solutions to combinatorial optimization problems, when good local optimization algorithms are available. The paper also presents an effective local search technique for the CPMP. Computational results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach, when compared to the best performing heuristics so far presented in the literature.     

Interpretation of the acetylene spectrum at 1.5 μm

Bands of acetylene in the region 6680-6460 cm^?1 recorded with a high resolution infrared spectrograph are assigned to transitions and molecular constants of the levels involved have been evaluated.     

Absorption spectrum of carbon dioxide at 4.3 μm

The absorption spectrum of carbon dioxide has been recorded in the wavenumber region 2395-2216 cm^?1 with a spectral resolution between 0.02 and 0.03 cm^?1. About twenty transitions have been identified and the molecular constants of the levels involved have been evaluated. In view of the interest of this region in atmospheric studies a map of the entire spectrum recorded by using a normal sample of carbon dioxide is presented including the identifications for the different bands. About 90% of the lines observed have been interpreted. Some of them have been assigned to transitions originating from higher excited states of ¹²C¹⁶O₂ not considered before in interpreting this spectral region. For the first time, bands of ¹²C¹⁶O¹⁷O have been identified in the 4.3-μm spectra obtained with the natural sample.     

Analysis of lorazepam and its 30-glucuronide in human urine by capillary electrophoresis: evidence for the formation of two distinct diastereoisomeric glucuronides

Lorazepam (LOR) is a 3-hydroxy-1,4-benzodiazepine that is chiral and undergoes enantiomerization at room temperature. In humans, about 75% of the administered dose of LOR is excreted in the urine as its 30-glucuronide. CE-MS with negative ESI was used to confirm the presence of LOR-30-glucuronide in urines that stemmed from a healthy individual who ingested 1 or 2 mg LOR, whereas free LOR could be detected in extracts prepared from enzymatically hydrolyzed urines. As the 30-glucuronidation reaction occurs at the chiral center of the molecule, two diastereoisomers can theoretically be formed, molecules that can no longer interconvert. The stereoselective formation of LOR glucuronides in humans and in vitro was investigated. MEKC analysis of extracts of the nonhydrolyzed urines suggested the presence of the two different LOR glucuronides in the urine. The formation of the same two diastereoisomers was also observed in vitro employing incubations of LOR with human liver microsomes in the presence of uridine 5'-diphospho-glucuronic acid as coenzyme. The absence of other coenzymes excluded the formation of phase I or other phase II metabolites of LOR. Both results revealed a stereoselectivity, one diastereoisomer being formed in a higher amount than the other. After enzymatic hydrolysis using beta-glucuronidase, these peaks could not be detected any more. Instead, LOR was monitored. Analysis of the extracts prepared from enzymatically hydrolyzed urines by MEKC in the presence of 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-CD revealed the enantiomerization process of LOR (observation of two peaks of equal magnitude connected with a plateau zone). The data presented provide for the first time the evidence of the stereoselectivity of the LOR glucuronidation in humans.     

A unified exact method for solving different classes of vehicle routing problems

This paper presents a unified exact method for solving an extended model of the well-known Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP), called the Heterogenous Vehicle Routing Problem (HVRP), where a mixed fleet of vehicles having different capacities, routing and fixed costs is used to supply a set of customers. The HVRP model considered in this paper contains as special cases: the Single Depot CVRP, all variants of the HVRP presented in the literature, the Site-Dependent Vehicle Routing Problem (SDVRP) and the Multi-Depot Vehicle Routing Problem (MDVRP). This paper presents an exact algorithm for the HVRP based on the set partitioning formulation. The exact algorithm uses three types of bounding procedures based on the LP-relaxation and on the Lagrangean relaxation of the mathematical formulation. The bounding procedures allow to reduce the number of variables of the formulation so that the resulting problem can be solved by an integer linear programming solver. Extensive computational results over the main instances from the literature of the different variants of HVRPs, SDVRP and MDVRP show that the proposed lower bound is superior to the ones presented in the literature and that the exact algorithm can solve, for the first time ever, several test instances of all problem types considered.      

High-resolution infrared spectroscopy of CH2D79Br: ro-vibrational analysis of the ν4 and ν8 fundamental bands

The high-resolution Fourier transform infrared spectrum of CH₂D⁷⁹Br has been recorded and analysed in the region of the ν₄ and ν₈ fundamentals located in the range 1125?1360 cm^?1. The strong ν₄ band, centred at 1225 cm^?1, shows an a/b-hybrid structure with predominant a-type character, whereas ν₈, at 1253 cm^?1, generates a c-type contour comparable in intensity to the b-type component of ν₄. The upper states of these fundamentals are coupled through a- and b-type Coriolis resonances; further complications in this band system arise from perturbations due to the ν₆ = 2 (1183 cm^?1) and ν₅ = ν₆ = 1 (1359 cm^?1) dark states. The former interacts with ν₈ = 1 by b-type Coriolis coupling, whereas the latter perturbs the ν₄ = 1 and ν₈ = 1 levels by anharmonic and a-type Coriolis resonances, respectively. Accurate upper state parameters and interaction terms have been determined for the tetrad system ν₄/ν₈/2ν₆/ν₅+ν₆ by also including in the dataset the assigned transitions of the 2ν₆?ν₆ and ν₅+ν₆?ν₆ hot bands obtained from previous analysis.     

Experimental and theoretical studies of the vibrational spectra of cis-1-bromo-2-fluoroethene

The gas-phase infrared spectrum of cis-1-bromo-2-fluoroethene has been studied at low resolution in the range 200-6500 cm(-1), leading to a complete assignment of the fundamentals, except the lowest vibrational mode nu9 predicted at 167 cm(-1). The remaining vibrational structure has been mainly interpreted in terms of first overtone or two quanta combination bands. Isotopic (79/91)Br shift has been observed only in the nu8 fundamental. The equilibrium structure and the quadratic force field have been investigated theoretically at CCSD(T) level of theory employing Dunning's correlation consistent triple-zeta basis set. Cubic and semidiagonal quartic force field have been calculated using second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory and Ahlrich' split valence (SV) contracted basis set. After a minor scaled quantum mechanical (SQM) adjustment of the quadratic force constants, the vibrational analysis, based on the second-order perturbation theory, has been carried out with the calculated force constants.