Short and long term stability of the elemental composition of human body fluid reference materials and their use as master lots

Summary Studies have been made of both short and long term stability of trace elements in lyophilized human body fluid reference materials, as well as the stability of mercury in reconstituted urine solutions. No detectable concentration changes for mercury, lead and aluminium occurred during the 5-year period. There are large differences in the amounts of mercury loss among different reconstituted materials. Addition of traces of gold to the solutions minimized the mercury loss and increased the useable time of the reconstituted material from hours to 8 days. A certification process based on direct determinations by reference laboratories and by comparison against master lots of the same material and against similar certified reference materials is presented. Values for calcium, copper and mercury obtained from reference laboratories and using the data transfer principle have been assigned in new batches of urine and serum.     

Determination of low molecular weight organic acids in soil solution by HPLC

An HPLC method employing an ion exclusion column was developed for the determination of low molecular weight organic acids in soil solution. The method includes extensive sample pretreatment using ultrafiltration and cation exchange. The method showed linear calibration graphs (r>0.99) and the limits of detection in the range 0.1-26 muM. The recovery of eleven added acids ranged from 89 to 102%. Soil solutions of five horizons of a podzolised soil were analysed. The results showed that these compounds made up 1-3% of the dissolved organic carbon and 0-14% of the acidity. Identification of the major acids was also carried out by capillary zone electrophoresis.     

Analysis of low molecular weight organic acids in water with capillary zone electrophoresis employing indirect photometric detection

A capillary zone electrophoretic method for the analysis of low molecular weight carboxylic acids in water was developed. The application uses the chromophore trimellitic acid that allows for indirect photometric detection at 254 nm. Selectivity control by the addition of Ca2+ to the carrier electrolyte made possible a baseline resolved separation of 14 carboxylic acids. Good linearity and repeatability were obtained for both electrokinetic and hydrostatic injection modes. The usefulness of the method is demonstrated by the analysis of a snow sample.     

Novel synthesis modes and properties of [1,4]benzodioxinopyridazines

A simple synthesis involving fusion of catechol and derivatives with 3,4,5-trichloropyridazine has furnished 4-chloro[1,4]benzodioxino[2,3-c]pyridazines 5 for the first time. This new method complements the previously reported base promoted procedure for preparing 4-chloro[1,4]benzodioxino-[2,3-d]pyridazines 3 . Employing both methods, 4-(trifluoromethyl)catechol was converted to the four regio isomers 3b,c and 5c,d . Structure assignment of these four was aided by the remarkably consistent influence of the pyridazine 4-chlorine substituent and diazo-linkage in inducing ¹H nmr downfield shifts of their nearest neighbor phenyl ring protons. Finally, contrary to what might be expected from previously reported results, reaction of methoxide with either 3 or 5 , gave chlorine substitution with formation of methoxybenzodioxinopyridazines 6 and 7 respectively. However, these reactions both give what appears to be an unprecedented rearrangement, with conversion of [2,3-c]-pyridazine to [2,3-d]pyridazine, and vice versa.     

Atomic absorption spectrometric determination of phosphorus in biological materials

The phosphorus content in the National Bureau of Standards, Standard Reference Materials orchard and tomato leaves, bovine liver and oyster tissue is determined by three atomic absorption spectrometric techniques: measurements of solid and liquid samples against liquid standards, and measurements based on standard additions. All methods gave results which agreed well with the certificate values. Compared to methods involving decomposition and atomization from solution, solid sampling offers the advantages of being direct and fast, and of requiring only small amounts of sample.     

Synthesis and identifications of potential metabolites as biomarkers of the synthetic cannabinoid AKB-48

AKB-48 belongs to the family of synthetic cannabinoids. It has strong binding affinity to CB₁ receptor and is psychoactive. It is banned in many countries including USA, Japan, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore and China etc. But the difficulty in detecting the parent compound in urine samples highlights the importance of studies of its metabolites. Here we report the synthesis of 19 potential metabolites of AKB-48, among which, compounds 2, 9, 10, 30 and 31, together with the commercially available substance 5 were identified as metabolites of AKB-48 by comparison with one authentic human urine sample and human liver microsomal data. Compounds 10 and 30 could be of use as biomarkers in detecting AKB-48 in human urine samples.