Comparison Between Four Radioimmunoassays for Plasma Estriol

Abstract

We have compared the results obtained for plasma estriol (E₃) when four radioimmunoassay methods were used to measure this steroid during various stages of human pregnancy. The first method used a nonspecific antiserum combined with a chromatographic step. The second method utilizes as binding reagent a specific antibody against estriol combined with the same chromatographic step. The last two methods involve solvent extraction only, combined with the specific antiserum. Dichloromethane and ether respectively are used as solvent. The lowest levels of E₃ were obtained with methods I and II. With dichloromethane extraction the E₃ levels were comparable to those obtained with methods I and II. When using ether extraction the E₃ levels were in most cases two to four times higher. Even with highly specific anti- E₃ sera, chromatography is still required to achieve specificity.     

Chromatographic Tandem Mass Spectrometric Detection of Physostigmine and its Major Metabolites in Rat Urine

Abstract

A rapid, sensitive, and specific liquid chromatographic‐electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem ion trap mass spectrometric method has been developed for identification of physostigmine and its metabolites in rat urine. 300 µg kg^–1 of physostigmine were used as a safe oral gavage dose for studies on its metabolites. 0–24 h urine was purified using a C18 solid‐phase extraction cartridge, and then detected by an on‐line MS detector. Identification and structural elucidation of the metabolites were performed by comparing their MSⁿ spectra with physostigmine. Six metabolites and unchanged physostigmine existed in rat urine. All of the metabolites were reported for the first time.     

Simple Routine Method for Enzymatic Iodination of Peptide Hormones

Abstract

A simple enzymatic method for iodinating peptide hormones usable in radioimmunoassays is evaluated. We iodinated human LH, human FSH, human and rat prolactin multiple times over the past year using similar conditions. In every instance we obtained an iodinated protein which had little damage and high specific activity and was useful in the respective radioimmunoassay. We recommend this method of iodination for laboratories continually performing multiple peptide hormone radioimmunoassays because of the method's simplicity, consistency and wide versatility. In addition, radio-iodination to desired specific activity is possible with this method.     

High resolution UPLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous separation and determination of six flavonoids from semen cuscutae extract in rat plasma: application to comparative pharmacokinetic studies in normal and kidney-deficient rats

Abstract

Semen Cuscutae, which mainly consisted of flavonoids, is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine and used for nourishing the liver and kidneys. The aim of this study was to develop a sensitive and selective UPLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous separation and determination of six main active renoprotective components of Hyperoside, Astragalin, Isoquercitrin, Quercitrin, Quercetin, and Kaempferol from Semen Cuscutae in rat plasma, and to reveal the pharmacokinetic differences between normal and kidney deficient rats. The validated method has been successfully applied to comparing pharmacokinetic profiles of the six analytes in rat plasma. The results indicated that there was significant difference in pharmacokinetic parameters of the six analytes between two groups, while absorptions in kidney deficient group were significantly lower than those in normal group. This study would be helpful for evaluating the Semen Cuscutae as renoprotective drug candidates for pre-clinical and clinical research.     

Method for Determination of Codeine and Morphine in Rat Whole Blood by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A HPLC method to simultaneously determine codeine and morphine in rat whole blood has been developed and evaluated. This method is based on a selective extraction and reversed-phase chromatography which results in chromatograms with 220 to 3500 theoretical plates for morphine and codeine. Detection is by electrochemical oxidation at +1.2V vs Ag/AgCl. In this method, the procedure of blood centrifugation for plasma preparation is eliminated. Therefore, the blood volume required is decreased and the sensitivity of analysis is considerably increased. Concentrations of codeine and morphine are low as 2ng/ml can be quantitated in as little as 100 mcl of rat whole blood.     

Voltammetric Determination of Lead Labelled Albumin and of Albumin Antiserum by Immunoassay

Abstract

Differential pulse polarography was utilized in voltammetric immunoassay to determine human albumin and albumin antiserum. Albumin was labelled with lead, which exhibited a reduction peak with E_1/2 at ?680 mV vs SCE. The current is proportional to the concentration of lead labelled albumin, and hence the albumin at a fixed lead concentration, and it decreases in proportion to the amount of albumin antiserum added. Albumin concentrations of 2.0 × 10^?6–10 × 10^?6 M and 10–50 μl of goat albumin antiserum (titer 1:16 = maximum dilution causing precipitation with equal volume of 1 mg/ml human albumin) were measured in the presence of 2 × 10^?6 M lead.     

Simple, Sensitive and Rapid LC–ESI–MS Method for the Quantitation of Olprinone in Rat Plasma

Olprinone is a phosphodiesterase (PDE)-3 inhibitor. This paper describes a simple, selective and sensitive method for the quantification of olprinone in rat plasma using a liquid–liquid extraction procedure followed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometric (LC–MS) analysis. The method had an advantage of high sensitivity. Analyses were conducted at a flow rate of 0.25 mL min⁻¹ by a gradient elution. The detection utilized selected ion monitoring in the positive ion mode at m/z 251.0 and 344.0 for the protonated molecular ions of olprinone and the internal standard, respectively. The quantitation limit for olprinone in rat plasma was 0.5 ng mL⁻¹. The linearity was also excellent over the concentration range of 0.5–100 ng mL⁻¹ of olprinone. The intra- and inter-day precision (relative standard deviation (RSD) %) was lower than 10%, and accuracy ranged from 90 to 110%. This developed method was successfully applied to analysis of olprinone in biological fluids.     

Anacardium occidentale Bark Lectin: Purification, Immobilization as an Affinity Model and Influence in the Uptake of Technetium-99M by Rat Adipocytes

Lectins, proteins that recognize carbohydrates, have been immobilized on inert supports and used in the screening or purification of glycoproteins. Anacardium occidentale bark infusion has been used as a hypoglycemic agent in Brazil. The toxicity of natural products may be evaluated determining their capability to alter the biodistribution of technetium-99M (^99mTc). This work reports the isolation and characterization of a lectin from A. occidentale bark (AnocBL), its evaluation as an affinity support for glycoprotein isolation and lectin effect on the uptake of ^99mTc by rat adipocytes. AnocBL was isolated from 80?% ammonium sulphate supernatant by affinity chromatography on fetuin?Cagarose. SDS?CPAGE showed a single protein band of 47?kDa. The monossacharide l-arabinose and the glycoproteins fetuin, asialofetuin, ovomucoid, casein, thyroglobulin, peroxidase, fetal bovine serum and IgG inhibited the activity. The lectin activity was stable until 70?°C and at a pH range of 3.0?C7.5. AnocBL?CSepharose column bound fetuin indicating that the lectin matrix may be used to obtain glycoconjugates of biotechnological interest. In vitro assay revealed that glucose and insulin increase ^99mTc uptake by rat adipocytes. AnocBL decreases ^99mTc uptake, and this effect was not detected in the presence of glucose. Fetuin inhibited AnocBL effect in all insulin concentrations.     

Differentiation of Normal and Neoplastic Cells by Synchronous Fluorescence: Rat Liver Epithelial and Rat Hepatoma Cell Models

ABSTRACT

In the present study, conventional and synchronous luminescence (SL) were utilized to investigate spectral differences in normal and neoplastic cells. The synchronous fluorescence (SF) method involves scanning simultaneously both emission and excitation wavelengths while keeping a constant wavelength interval between them. This SF procedure simplifies the emission spectrum and provides for greater selectivity and is used to detect subtle differences in the fluorescence emission of the biochemical species of cells from rat tissues. A difference between the fluorescent spectra of the normal rat liver epithelial (RLE) and hepatoma cell lines were detected using synchronous fluorescence. The potential use of SF as a screening tool for cancer diagnosis is discussed.     

An Enzyme Sensor For Determination of Acetylcholine and Choline In Rat Brain Extracts

Abstract

A choline enzyme sensor, recently developed by the authors, was used for choline and acetylcholine determination in rat brain extracts, using choline oxidase immobilized on cellulose triacetate membranes, and acetylcholinesterase in homogeneous solution. the method proved useful for assay of the acetylcholine content in a commercial pharmaceutical formulation used in ophthalmology.     

A Rapid Isolation of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin and Its Subunits by Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A rapid isolation of human chorionic gonadotropin and its subunits from a commercially available concentrate of human urine has been achieved using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. With μBondapak C₁₈ columns and a gradient employing aqueous trifluoroacetic acid as one solvent and dilute trifluoroacetic acid in acetonitrile as the other, complete separation can be accomplished in one day whereas standard column chromatographic procedures take about two weeks. Specific radioimmunoassays, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and amino acid analyses were used to identify and characterize chromatographic peaks.     

Solid Phase Extraction and High Performance Liquid Chromatography for the Analysis of Milrinone in Rat Plasma

Abstract

A high performance liquid chromatographic method is presented for the determination of milrinone in rat plasma. The technique requires only 100 μl of sample volume, and is sensitive, rapid and reproducible. It has been applied to the measurement of milrinone in plasma of rats dosed orally or intravenously with milrinone. The oral bioavailability for milrinone was estimated at about 0.64 which is much lower than that reported in human.     

茶碱抗体的制备及鉴定

茶碱在临床上是一种非常有用的药剂。本文报道一种新的茶碱抗血清的制各及鉴定方法．用混合酸酐法合成抗原，借助于紫外光谱对其进行定性和定量分析。用混合免疫法免疫兔子，用免疫扩散法对抗血清进行鉴定。     

High Pressure Liquid Chromatographic Assay for Salicylic Acid and its Metabolites in Rat Urine

Abstract

An HPLC method for the determination of salicylic acid (SA), gentisic acid (GA), salicyluric acid (SU), and salicyl acyl glucuronide (SAG) in rat urine was developed. The method consisted of extracting SA, GA, and SU from acidified urine into 50:50 mixture of ethyl acetate and butyl chloride. Salicyl acyl glucuronide was extracted from neutral urine after conversion to salicyl hydroxamic acid with hydroxylamine. Salicyl phenolic glucuronide was estimated indirectly as the difference between total salicylate and sum of the four constituents mentioned above. Chromatographic separation was done on a C₁₈ column with U.V. detection at 310 nm using a mobile phase consisting of 5–10% acetonitrile in 3% glacial acetic acid. The extraction recovery of these compounds from spiked urine ranged from 90–108%. The detection limits were 10 μg/ml for GA, SU and SA, and 2.5 μg/ml for SHA. The method was applied to the study of salicylic acid metabolism in the rat.     

Direct Multielement Determination of Selected Elements in Rat Urine by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy

Abstract

A method has been developed for the direct determination of dissolved elements in samples of rat urine of less than 2 ml, by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy. The method is capable of measuring copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and zinc.     

Radioimmunoassay of Plasma Cortisol

Abstract

A radioimmunoassay method for the direct measurement of cortisol in plasma after precipitation of the proteins with ethanol is described. Utilizing a specific antiserum against cortisol, with minimal or no cross reaction with other steroids, cortisol was meas-red accurately in a volume of 0.001 ml of plasma. The range of levels that could be measured per ml of plasma varied from 10 to 500 ng. The mean value of plasma cortisol at 8 a. m. obtained in twelve subjects by this method was about half the mean levels reported by another competitive protein binding assay.     

Analysis of Rat Caseins by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

The analysis of rat caseins by high performance liquid chromatography is described. These procedures have confirmed the structural similarity of the polypeptide chains of native and dephosphorylated rat β- and β-caseins as well as to demonstrate that these two related proteins are structurally unrelated to the rat α₁-casein protein. In addition, these HPLC techniques allow the analysis of the phosphorylation patterns of these rat caseins following digestion with potato acid phosphatase (E.C. 3.1.3.2).     

Novel and Sensitive Noncompetitive Enzyme Immunoassay (Hetero-Two-Site Enzyme Immunoassay) for Arginine Vasopressin

Abstract

A novel and sensitive noncompetitive enzyme immunoassay (hetero-two-site enzyme immunoassay) for arginine vasopressin in plasma is described. Plasma (0.3 ml) was diluted 1.3-fold with an appropriate buffer and filtered by centrifugation in a micro-concentrator with polysaccharide membrane to eliminate plasma proteins. Arginine vasopressin in plasma filtrates was biotinylated and trapped onto anti-arginine vasopressin IgG-coated polystyrene balls. After washing the polystyrene balls to eliminate other biotinylated substances, the biotinylated arginine vasopressin was eluted from the polystyrene balls with HCl and was reacted with anti-arginine vasopressin Fab′-peroxidase conjugate. The complex formed was trapped onto streptavidin-coated polystyrene balls. Peroxidase activity bound to the polystyrene balls was assayed by fluorometry. The detection limit of arginine vasopressin was 11 fg (10 amol)/tube. This was 45-fold lower than that by competitive enzyme immunoassay using the same antiserum as used in this study and 9 to 400-fold lower than those previously reported by competitive radioimmunoassays. The assay range of arginine vasopressin in plasma was 0.14–140 ng /l using 100 μl of plasma filtrates corresponding to 75 u1 o f plasma. Plasma levels of arginine vasopressin i n 8 healthy subjects aged 25–41 yr with, ad libitum water in take and normal activity approximately 4 h after breakfast were 0.72 ± 0.22 (SD) ng /l (range, 0.42–1.04 ng /l).     

Chemilumiescence immunoassay for oxazepam

For the sensitive assay descibed, antiserum against oxazepam-3-hemisuccinate/bovine serum albumin is raised in rabbits. The chemiluminogenic N-(4-aminobutyl)-N-ethylisoluminol conjugate of oxazepam-3-hemisuccinate is used as tracer. The sample or standard is incubated with a suitable antiserum and chemiluminogenic tracer for 60 min. After separation (dextrancoated charcoal) of bound and free tracer, the chemiluminescence in the bound fraction is measured. As little as 0.9 pg of oxazepam could be oxazepam could be detected. In urine samples, down to 40 ng ml^?1 could easily be determined after HPLC separation.     

Specificity and Cross Reactivity in Bile Acid Radioimmunoassays Serum Bile Acids,Radioimmunoassay

Abstract

In man there are four main bile acid fractions and within each fraction there is the possibility of at least three bile acid moities - two conjugated and one unconjugated. Bile acids thus present a considerable challenge to radioimmunoassay techniques. Few of the antisera described to date are satisfactory in that they do not show equal reactivity to each of the moities to be assayed, and many have unacceptable cross reactivity properties. Clearly there is need for caution and development in this field. The first application of radioimmunoassay (RIA) techniques to the measurement of serum bile acids was made by Simmonds, Korman, Go and Hofmann in 1973¹. Because of its unique sensitivity and ease of application, RIA has been used not only to determine the increased serum bile acid levels found in liver disease, but also to monitor the clearance of bile acids from the peripheral circulation of normal subjects, to provide 24 hour serum bile acid profiles in normal subjects and even to assay the low serum bile acid levels found in patients in whom the bile acid enterohepatic circulation has been interrupted. Some 20 preparations of bile acid antisera have been described to date and commercial kits are now available, for RIA of each of the 4 major bile acid fractions found in human sera. Considerable differences however, in the specificity of these antisera are indicated by their reported cross reactivities and the analytical validity of their use is often questionable.