Characteristics of electrically injured skin from human hand tissue samples using Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy.

This technical note describes a method for distinguishing normal skin tissue samples from those electrically injured by Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FTIR MSP). Furthermore, the infrared spectral features of electrically injured cells and tissues were evaluated to identify molecular changes in epidermal cells. In the present study, 20 human hand tissue samples were evaluated macroscopically and histopathologically. The electrically injured skin samples were subdivided into 2 regions [normal cell regions (NCRs) and polarized cell regions (PCRs)] and 14 major spectral absorption bands were selected. The spectral results showed that the band absorbance at 1080, 1126, 1172, 1242, 1307, 1403, 1456, 1541, 2852, 2925, 2957, 3075, and 3300cm(-1) increased significantly both in the stratum and non-stratum corneum of the PCRs in electrically injured skin tissues samples. No significant difference was found between normal skin and the NCR of the electrically injured skin samples. The band absorbance ratios of A1172/A1126, A1456/A1403, and A2925/A2957 were significantly increased, whereas the A1652/A1541 ratio was decreased in the PCR of the stratum corneum and non-stratum corneum. Baseline changes from 4000 to near 1737cm(-1) were observed in the spectra of the electrically injured skin samples, which were interpreted in terms of the pathological process involved in electrical injury. FTIR-MSP presents a useful method to provide objective spectral markers for the assisted diagnosis of electrical marks.

Comparison of clozapine in nail and hair of psychiatric patients determined with LC-MS/MS.

As a keratinized material, nail recently has attracting researchers' attention in the pharmaceuticals analysis. There are comparatively limited studies concerning nail's xenobiotic determination and its mechanism. This article reported the development of a sensitive, specific and reproducible LC-MS/MS method, which could be as a foundation of other studies on drug determination in nail. It can also be regarded as the first report on organic drug in mainland China. Sixteen nail samples from volunteers, who were ingested clozapine for more than nine months, are confirmed positive after being analyzed by the method. It is found that contents of clozapine in the patients' nails are above the nanogram level. Besides, a comparative study of clozapine concentration in nails and hair was made, with a result that there exists a correlation between the two materials in terms of clozapine concentration.

[Freeze grinding combined ultrasonic technique for the treatment of nail test material].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of the new method of combining freeze grinding with ultrasonic technique for the pretreatment of the nail for toxicological and pharmaceutical analysis and to compare the advantages and disadvantages of this method with other traditional methods. METHODS: Five pretreatment methods were examined. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe the microstructural changes of the nail. RESULTS: The microscopic structure of nail totally destroyed after alkali treatment. The hierarchy mode of the internal structure became obvious and tight after acid hydrolysis, which became indistinct after methanol infiltration. The structure of nail broke to pieces after ultrasonic technique. After freeze grinding combined ultrasonic technique, the particle structure kept original shape, and its size was one hundred times smaller than which after manual way. CONCLUSION: The freeze grinding combined ultrasonic technique can improve the release efficiency, and ensure the stability of the toxicant or drug during the pretreatment process. It is appropriate for toxicological and pharmaceutical analysis in the nail.

The operating regularity of the stepper motor of thermal inkjet printers and its application in the China national accreditation service 2017ZO146 altered documents identification proficiency test.

With the continuous innovation of inkjet printing technology, the methods of using inkjet printers for falsification have also constantly evolved, leading to increasing difficulties in identifying printing alterations made by the same inkjet printer. This paper mainly studies the operating regularity of the stepper motor of inkjet printers to determine the operating mechanism of inkjet printers and thus to identify whether documents had been tampered with. To detect the operating track of the stepper motor, 154 documents printed by 22 different brands and models of thermal inkjet printers were studied according to the periodic morphological characteristics of ink marks and the track of the stepper motor during different printing processes. As a result: ① the maximum gauge of 22 printheads was found to be different and ② the different distribution of ink marks were mainly affected by the direction and speed of the stepper motor. The track of the stepper motor was able to be determined by the periodic morphological characteristics of the ink marks combined with the maximum gauges, and could be used to judge how many times a document was printed. The observed regularities were evaluated by the CNAS 2017ZO146 test, a national proficiency test in China. In conclusion, using the summarized operating regularities of the stepper motor, it is possible to identify printing alterations made by the same thermal inkjet printer.

Determination of cocaine and benzoylecgonine in guinea pig's hair after a single dose administration by LC-MS/MS.

A sensitive LC-MS/MS method to determine cocaine and its major metabolite benzoylecgonine in guinea pig' s hair has been established. About 20 mg of decontaminated hair sample was hydrolyzed with 0. 1 mol x L(-1) HCl at 50 degrees C overnight, in the presence of cocaine-d3 and benzoylecgonine-d8 used as internal standards, and then extracted with dichlormethane. The analysis was performed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Positive electrospray ionization (ESI +) and multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode were used. The limit of detection (LOD) for cocaine and benzoylecgonine was 1 pg x mg(-1). The calibration curves of extracted standards were linear over the range from 5 pg x mg(-1) to 250 pg x mg(-1) (r2 > or = 0.9997). The method was validated and applied to the analysis of guinea pig's hair after a single dose administration of cocaine hydrochloride. Cocaine and benzoylecgonine were not only detected, but also quantified in guinea pigs hair.

[Simultaneous analyses of cocaine and its metabolite benzoylecgonine in urine by LC-MS/MS].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous analysis of cocaine (COC) and its metabolite benzoylecgonine(BZE) in urine samples. METHODS: A single dose of COC (10 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally into guinea pigs and urine samples were collected for 7 days. The urine samples were extracted by auto solid phase extraction (SPE), separated by the Allure PFP propyl column with a mobile phase consisting of methanol and 20 mmol/L ammonium acetate buffer [0.1% formic acid (80:20, V/V)], and then analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was used to analyze COC (m/z 304.2-->182.3, m/z 304.2-->150.1) and BZE (m/z 290.2-->168.3, m/z 290.2-->105.0). RESULTS: COC and BZE showed a fairly good linearity over the range of 2.0-100 ng/mL (r=0.9995). The detection limit was 0.5 ng/mL. The recovery rate was greater than 90% and the deviation of intra- and inter-day precision was less than 6%. BZE was the major target detected in urine samples, and its detection window was longer than COC. CONCLUSION: This newly developed method shows high sensitivity and selectivity, and is suitable for the simultaneous analysis of cocaine and benzoylecgonine in urine samples.