Undeclared Doping Substances are Highly Prevalent in Commercial Sports Nutrition Supplements.

Sports nutrition supplements have previously been reported to contain undeclared doping substances. The use of such supplements can lead to general health risks and may give rise to unintentional doping violations in elite sports. To assess the prevalence of doping substances in a range of high-risk sports nutrition supplements available from Dutch web shops. A total of 66 sports nutrition supplements - identified as potentially high-risk products claiming to modulate hormone regulation, stimulate muscle mass gain, increase fat loss, and/or boost energy - were selected from 21 different brands and purchased from 17 web shops. All products were analyzed for doping substances by the UK life sciences testing company LGC, formerly known as the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, using an extended version of their ISO17025 accredited nutritional supplement screen. A total of 25 out of the 66 products (38%) contained undeclared doping substances, which included high levels of the stimulants oxilofrine, ß-methylphenethylamine (BMPEA) and N,ß-dimethylphenethylamine (NBDMPEA), the stimulant 4-methylhexan-2-amine (methylhexaneamine, 1,3-dimethylamylamine, DMAA), the anabolic steroids boldione (1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione) and 5-androstene-3ß,17α-diol (17α-AED), the beta-2 agonist higenamine and the beta-blocker bisoprolol. Based upon the recommended dose and the potential variability of analyte concentration, the ingestion of some products identified within this study could pose a significant risk of unintentional doping violations. In addition to inadvertent doping risks, the prescribed use of 3 products (4.5%) could likely impose general health risks.

Management of hospital wastewaters: the case of the effluent of a large hospital situated in a small town.

Hospitals are the main source of pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) released into the environment. Generally, their discharges are co-treated with domestic wastewaters, resulting in a decrement of the recalcitrant compound concentrations in the final effluent due to water dilution. However, as many PhCs resist normal treatments, pollutant load does not change. This paper compares the chemical characteristics of hospital and domestic wastewaters on the basis of an experimental investigation for macro-pollutants and literature data for PhCs. A membrane biological reactor pilot plant fed by a hospital effluent is tested in order to evaluate the feasibility of treating these kinds of wastewaters with membrane systems. The paper then presents the possible scenarios in the management of the effluent of a large hospital situated in a small town. In particular, it reports on a case study of designing a (new) treatment plant for the effluent of the 900 bed hospital in Ferrara, Northern Italy, located on the outskirts of the town. Finally, costs for the intervention are given.

Evaluation of the use of UPLC-TOFMS with simultaneous [14C]-radioflow detection for drug metabolite profiling: application to propranolol metabolites in rat urine.

The non-selective beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol [1-(isopropylamino)-3-(1-naphthoxy)-2-propanol] is metabolised extensively in vivo. Enumerating and identifying the many metabolites that result from multiple biotransformations provides a considerable analytical challenge, greatly aided by efficient chromatography coupled to sensitive mass spectrometric detection. Here the use of the newly introduced high-resolution technique of "ultra performance liquid chromatography" (UPLC) linked to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) with simultaneous [(14)C]-radioflow detection was applied to rapid metabolite profiling. [14C]-propranolol, dosed intraperitoneally to rat at 25 mg kg(-1) and 200 microCi kg(-1) was used as a model compound for this evaluation. Some 14 metabolites were detected in the urine by this technique including a number of conjugated metabolites such as sulphates, several isobaric glucuronides and two novel di-glucuronides.

Indirect atomic absorption spectrometric determination of pindolol, propranolol and levamisole hydrochlorides based on formation of ion associates with manganese thiocyanate and potassium ferricyanide.

A new simple, accurate, precise and sensitive indirect method for the determination of pindolol HCl (1), propranolol HCl (2) and levamisole HCl (3) using atomic absorption spectrometry has been developed. The method is based on precipitation of the ion associates formed from the reaction of (1), (2) or (3) with manganese thiocyanate and/or potassium ferricyanide. The solubility of the solid complexes at the optimum conditions of pH and ionic strength values have been studied. Saturated solutions of each ion-associate were prepared under the optimum conditions and the metal ion content in the supernatant was determined. The method has been used for the determination of 1.14-17.07, 1.18-17.75 and 1.08-16.24 microg/ml of (1), (2) and (3), respectively using manganese thiocyanate and 1.71-25.60, 1.77-26.62 and 1.62-24.36 microg/ml of (1), (2) and (3), respectively using potassium ferricyanide. The method developed applied for analysis of bulk drugs and some of their pharmaceutical preparations.

Compatibility of esmolol hydrochloride with morphine sulfate and fentanyl citrate during simulated Y-site administration.

The compatibility and stability of esmolol hydrochloride in admixtures during simulated Y-site injection of morphine sulfate or fentanyl citrate was studied. One milliliter of either morphine sulfate (15 mg/mL) or fentanyl citrate (0.05 mg/mL) was injected into a running infusion of esmolol hydrochloride (10 mg/mL) in 5% dextrose and 0.9% sodium chloride injection, and the solution was visually observed for changes. To determine the stability of the drugs during Y-site injection, esmolol hydrochloride 4 mL (1000 mg) in 5% dextrose and 0.9% sodium chloride injection was combined with 100 mL of either morphine sulfate 15 mg/mL or fentanyl citrate 0.05 mg/mL to simulate concentrations of the drugs that might be expected during Y-site injection. The admixtures were stored at ambient room temperature under normal light, and drug concentrations were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography at time zero and at two, four, and eight hours. Admixtures were also tested for pH and observed for visual changes. No immediate changes were observed in any of the admixtures, and the concentrations of the drugs varied by less than 4% throughout the study period. No precipitate or color changes were noted during Y-site injection of either drug into the running esmolol infusion. Under all of the conditions studied, esmolol hydrochloride in 5% dextrose and 0.9% sodium chloride injection is compatible with morphine sulfate or fentanyl citrate.