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Analytical Time (analytical + time)
Selected AbstractsDevelopment of a simulated earthworm gut for determining bioaccessible arsenic, copper, and zinc from soil,ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 7 2009Wai K. Ma Abstract Soil physicochemical characteristics and contamination levels alter the bioavailability of metals to terrestrialinvertebrates. Current laboratory-derived benchmark concentrations used to estimate risk do not take into account site-specific conditions, such as contaminant sequestration, and site-specific risk assessment requires a battery of time-consuming and costly toxicity tests. The development of an in vitro simulator for earthworm bioaccessibility would significantly shorten analytical time and enable site managers to focus on areas of greatest concern. The simulated earthworm gut (SEG) was developed to measure the bioaccessibility of metals in soil to earthworms by mimicking the gastrointestinal fluid composition of earthworms. Three formulations of the SEG (enzymes, microbial culture, enzymes and microbial culture) were developed and used to digest field soils from a former industrial site with varying physicochemical characteristics and contamination levels. Formulations containing enzymes released between two to 10 times more arsenic, copper, and zinc from contaminated soils compared with control and 0.01 M CaCl2 extractions. Metal concentrations in extracts from SEG formulation with microbial culture alone were not different from values for chemical extractions. The mechanism for greater bioaccessible metal concentrations from enzyme-treated soils is uncertain, but it is postulated that enzymatic digestion of soil organic matter might release sequestered metal. The relevance of these SEG results will need validation through further comparison and correlation with bioaccumulation tests, alternative chemical extraction tests, and a battery of chronic toxicity tests with invertebrates and plants. [source] Evaluation of Ves-Matic Cube 200 , an automated system for the measurement of the erythrocyte sedimentation rateINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LABORATORY HEMATOLOGY, Issue 1p2 2010E. PEROVIC Summary Ves-Matic Cube 200 is fully automated analyzer that performs erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) measurement using the standard ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid blood sample tube, thus markedly reducing the analytical time and avoiding the need for an extra blood sample. The aim of this study was to assess the automatic Ves-Matic Cube 200 system for the measurement of ESR in comparison with the original International Council for Standardization in Hematology reference method (Westergren). The evaluation comprised accuracy which was established using a 95% confidence interval (CI) for the mean difference between Ves-Matic Cube 200 and Westergren method (mean of difference: 0.47 ± 6.84 mm/h; 95% CI: ,0.376 to 1.325 mm/h), within-run imprecision for samples with ESR values of 9, 42 and 95 mm/h (coefficients of variation: 9.19%, 13.88% and 5.66%, respectively) and method comparison (, = 0.95; Passing-Bablok regression equation: Y = ,0.0435 + 1.0435 X; bias: ,0.5; limits of agreement: ,13.9 to 12.9). Stability was estimated after 24 h storage either at 4 °C and room temperature (mean of differences: ,1.91 mm/h; 95% CI: ,4.852 to 1.037 mm/h and mean of differences: ,12.48 mm/h; 95% CI: ,16.580 to ,8.390 mm/h, respectively). The obtained results suggest that the Ves-Matic Cube 200 automated analyzer is reliable system for the measurement of ESR in clinical laboratories. [source] Application of water as a solvent in microwave-assisted extraction for analysis of PCBs and CBzs in fly ashJOURNAL OF SEPARATION SCIENCE, JSS, Issue 6 2005Yifei Sun Abstract Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorobenzenes (CBzs) are two classes of dioxin precursors formed in municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs); they produce negative health effects similar to those of dioxins. Reducing the analytical time required for determining the concentrations of these compounds in MSWIs is important for quickly evaluating their importance and assessing associated health risks. In the present study, water is used as a safe and environmentally friendly solvent in microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) for PCB and CBz analyses. MAE is compared with traditional Soxhlet extraction (SE) to determine the extraction efficiencies. The evaluation of extraction efficiencies shows that MAE has a high extraction efficiency compared with that of SE when water content is lower than 60%. Furthermore, the extraction time and organic solvent consumption are reduced with MAE compared with SE. [source] Profiling of yew hair roots from various species using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometryRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 15 2008Guang-Bo Ge An efficient and sensitive profiling approach to complex yew samples was developed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-MS). The UPLC-based method displayed short analytical time and improved peak capability, as well as high sensitivity. The appropriate in-source collision-induced dissociation (CID) energy was employed to produce informative characteristic ions which could be used for stereochemical and sub-structural assignment of yew constituents. The method was successfully applied in the rapid screening of yew hair roots from various species, and 53 constituents including 47 taxoids were detected from partially purified root extract. Notably, C-7 hydroxytaxane stereoisomers could be identified based on their different fragment ions under the optimal profiling conditions. It was also observed that hair roots from different Taxus species exhibited nearly identical chemical distribution, indicating they had similar metabolic frameworks. Additionally, Taxus root resources also display benign medicinal perspective because they have relatively simple chemical profiles and possess high yields of valuable taxanes such as paclitaxel, cephalomannine, 10-deacetylpaclitaxel and 7-xylosyltaxanes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Stable isotope dilution analysis of N-acetylaspartic acid in urine by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometryBIOMEDICAL CHROMATOGRAPHY, Issue 9 2007Osama Y. Al-Dirbashi Abstract N -acetylaspartic acid (NAA) is a specific urinary marker for Canavan disease, an autosomal recessive leukodystrophy. We developed a ,dilute and shoot' stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for determination of NAA in urine. Deuterated internal standard d3 -NAA was added to untreated urine and the mixture was injected into the LC-MS/MS system operated in the negative ion mode. Chromatography was carried out on a C8 minibore column using 50% acetonitrile solution containing 0.05% formic acid at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min. The retention time was 1.6 min and the turnaround time was 2.2 min. NAA and d3 -NAA were analyzed in multiple reaction monitoring mode. Calibrators and quality control samples were prepared in pooled control urine. The assay was linear up to 2000 µmol/L with limit of quantification at 1 µmol/L (S/N = 12). Interassay and intraassay coefficients of variation were less than 7% and recovery at three different concentrations was 98.9,102.5%. The LC-MS/MS method for NAA as described involves no extraction and no derivatization, showed no interference and gave excellent recovery with low variability and short analytical time. The method was successfully applied for the retrospective analysis of urine from 21 Canavan disease cases. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] |