Quantitative analysis of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol in preserved oral fluid by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive method for the analysis of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in preserved oral fluid was developed and fully validated. Oral fluid was collected with the Intercept, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved sampling device that is used on a large scale in the U.S. for workplace drug testing. The method comprised a simple liquid-liquid extraction with hexane, followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) analysis. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a XTerra MS C18 column, eluted isocratically with 1 mM ammonium formate-methanol (10:90, v/v). Selectivity of the method was achieved by a combination of retention time, and two precursor-product ion transitions. The use of the liquid-liquid extraction was demonstrated to be highly effective and led to significant decreases in the interferences present in the matrix. Validation of the method was performed using both 100 and 500 MicroL of oral fluid. The method was linear over the range investigated (0.5-100 ng/mL and 0. 1-10 ng/mL when 100 and 500 microL, respectively, of oral fluid were used) with an excellent intra-assay and inter-assay precision (relative standard deviations, RSD <6%) for quality control samples spiked at a concentration of 2.5 and 25 ng/mL and 0.5 and 2.5 ng/mL, respectively. Limits of quantification were 0.5 and 0.1 ng/mL when using 100 and 500 microL, respectively. In contrast to existing GC-MS methods, no extensive sample clean-up and time-consuming derivatisation steps were needed. The method was subsequently applied to Intercept samples collected at the roadside and collected during a controlled study with cannabis.     

Retention in coupled capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography with lipids as model compounds

Summary We have investigated to which extent retention data, acquired on single capillary columns, can be used for predicting retention factors in a coupled column system. For this purpose we utilized a model mixture of 18 lipid components with widely different vapor pressures and polarities. The sample was chromatographed on two columns, SB-biphenyl-30 (70% methyl-30% biphenylpolysiloxane) and SB-cyanopropyl-50 (50% methyl-50% cyanopropylsiloxane). Experimental retention factors, acquired in coupled column systems with two columns connected in different order, were thus compared with values calculated from runs on each single column. The agreement between calculated and experimental values generally was better than 5% without any pressure drop correction.To study the possibility of predicting retention behavior in a wide pressure range from a limited number of experiments, we also investigated the relation between solute retention and mobile phase density. We found that all data could be fitted to second order equations, which gives the possibility to optimize the resolution with respect to pressure from a limited number of runs at different pressures.     

A two-step supercritical fluid extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from roadside soil samples

A two-step procedure for the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from soil samples was developed. The procedure consists of a static supercritical fluid treatment in a closed extraction cell at a high temperature (T=250 or 340degreesC for 20 min) and an SFE with a solvent trapping. During the static phase, the sample is exposed to a supercritical organic solvent (methanol, toluene, dichloromethane, ACN, acetone, and hexane). The solvent penetrates particles of the matrix to substitute strongly bonded molecules and dissolves the analytes in the supercritical phase. At ambient temperature, supercritical fluids became liquid and lost their solvation abilities. Most of the analytes condense on the surface of the particles or on the extraction cell walls without forming strong bonds or penetrating deep into the matrix. Thus, the pretreatment liberates the analytes and they behave similar to those in freshly spiked samples. The common SFE with toluene-modified CO2 as an extraction fluid follows the static phase. With the use of the most suitable extraction phases (toluene, ACN), the extraction efficiency of the combined procedure is much higher (approximately100%). The results of the combined procedure are compared to the SFE procedure of the same untreated sample (difference less than 5%) and to the Soxhlet extraction. The extracts were analyzed using a GC with the flame ionization detection.     

Retention behaviour of carboxylic acid methyl esters in supercritical fluid chromatography

The study on retention behavior in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) is necessary to understand the mechanism of the various interactions in SFC. The retention of SFC in carboxylic acid methyl ester/polymethylsiloxane/CO2 system was studied systematically and the retention behavior of this kind of compounds under various typical operation conditions was described using the method of an alternative unified theory of chromatographic retention. The results illustrated that expression: Ink.= a + b/T + cp + dp/T + ep2/T can be used to describe quantitatively the retention behavior of carboxylic acid methyl ester/polymethylsiloxane/CO2 system in the ranges of reduced density from 0.549 to 1.411. It was also found that the entropy of solute in stationary phase is dependent on the density of supercritical fluid (SF) under typical operating conditions of SFC.     

Separation of fatty acid methyl esters by comprehensive two-dimensional supercritical fluid chromatography with packed columns and programming of sampling duration

Fatty acid methyl esters from various fats and oils were separated by comprehensive two-dimensional supercritical fluid chromatography with conventional packed columns and FID detection. The first dimension was a silica gel column and the second dimension was an ODS column. This combination was largely orthogonal for the separation of fatty acid methyl esters. The first dimension separations were primarily based on the number of double bonds while the second dimension separations were based on the chain length. The highly-ordered chromatograms and improved resolution allowed the easy detection and identification of minor components. Although the first dimension separations were performed under isobaric conditions where the peak width increased in proportion to the retention, the programming of the sampling duration allowed us to maintain the optimum re-injection frequency (3–4 times) per peak into the second dimension and so to minimize the total analysis time without deteriorating the resolution.     

Flow and heat transfer with prescribed skin friction in a rotating fluid

This paper investigates the rotating flow and heat transfer of a viscous fluid induced by a stretching surface. The nonlinear problem subject to a given skin friction at the boundary is solved. Analytic solution is obtained using homotopy analysis method. The velocity, temperature, and stretching velocity is calculated for different values of the rotation parameter (λ). The obtained results are compared with the well known results of rotating flow induced by a stretching surface by using four sets of boundary conditions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous effects of induced magnetic field and heat and mass transfer on the peristaltic motion of second‐order fluid in a channel

In this article, we investigate the influence of heat and mass transfer on the peristaltic flow of magnetohydrodynamic second‐order fluid in a channel when the induced magnetic field effects are present. Problem formulation in a wave frame of reference is presented. The governing nonlinear analysis is carried out under the assumption of small wave number. Explicit expressions of the pressure gradient, the stream function, the magnetic force function, the axial induced magnetic field, the current density distribution, the temperature, and the concentration distribution are derived. The effects of embedded parameters are also examined. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于灰色数学的洗胃液量的软测量

鉴于洗胃液量实时在线检测与求解的困难,提出利用灰色数学的累加生成方法,把液量作为主导变量,管路二处压力差的累积压力作为二次变量,根据二者之间的一一映射关系,仿真实验研究洗胃液量的软测量技术,给出了实验结果,为液量的工程检测提供了一种数学方法.     

The efect of the couple stress parameter and Prandtl number on the transient natural convection flow over a vertical cylinder

An analysis is performed to study transient free convective boundary layer flow of a couple stress fluid over a vertical cylinder, in the absence of body couples. The solution of the time-dependent non-linear and coupled governing equations is carried out with the aid of an unconditionally stable Crank–Nicolson type of numerical scheme. Numerical results for the steady-state velocity, temperature as well as the time histories of the skin-friction coefcient and Nusselt number are presented graphically and discussed. It is seen that for all flow variables as the couple stress control parameter, Co, is amplified, the time required for reaching the temporal maximum increases but the steady-state decreases.     

A generic framework for time-stepping partial differential equations (PDEs): general linear methods,object-oriented implementation and application to fluid problems

Time-stepping algorithms and their implementations are a critical component within the solution of time-dependent partial differential equations (PDEs). In this article, we present a generic framework – both in terms of algorithms and implementations – that allows an almost seamless switch between various explicit, implicit and implicit–explicit (IMEX) time-stepping methods. We put particular emphasis on how to incorporate time-dependent boundary conditions, an issue that goes beyond classical ODE theory but which plays an important role in the time-stepping of the PDEs arising in computational fluid dynamics. Our algorithm is based upon J.C. Butcher's unifying concept of general linear methods that we have extended to accommodate the family of IMEX schemes that are often used in engineering practice. In the article, we discuss design considerations and present an object-oriented implementation. Finally, we illustrate the use of the framework by applications to a model problem as well as to more complex fluid problems.