Association of Trace Metals in Patients with Schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the serum concentrations of copper, iron and zinc in schizophrenic patients with healthy individuals. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional comparison study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Chemical Pathology and Endocrinology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The study was conducted from July to December 2020. METHODOLOGY: Among 115 participants in the study, schizophrenic patients and healthy subjects were 35 and 80, respectively. Copper and zinc were measured by using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Serum Iron measurement was done on ADVIA 1800 chemistry auto analyser. Comparison of these trace metals among patients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects, by using Mann-Whitney U-test and correlation with the duration of disease, was analysed by the application of Spearman's correlation. RESULTS: Males accounted for 25 (71.4%) and females were 10 (28.6%) in diseased group; while in healthy subjects, males accounted for 54 (67.5%) and females 26 (32.5%). Copper, iron and zinc levels were noted to be significantly reduced in schizophrenic patients, when compared with healthy subjects (p <0.001). CONCLUSION: This study could offer an additional clue in the diagnosis and possible role of trace metals in pathophysiology and progression of many psychiatric illnesses, particularly schizophrenia. Key Words: Psychiatric illness, Schizophrenia, Trace metals.

A novel method development and validation for determination of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene and its metabolites on LC-MS/MS.

LC-MS/MS has recently emerged as the best practice for simultaneous analysis of 2, 4, 6 Trinitrotoluene (TNT) and its metabolites. We have developed and validated an LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of 2, 4, 6 Trinitrotoluene (TNT) and its metabolites 4-ADNT, 2-ADNT, 2,4-DNT, and 2,6-DNT in urine samples. These four metabolites were acid hydrolyzed using 1 mL of urine followed by extraction using n-Hexane and ethyl acetate as an extracting solvent. Separation was achieved by centrifugation, and the supernatant was dried under nitrogen, reconstituted with water and acetonitrile, and then filtered. Chromatographic separation was achieved on Agilent Poroshel 120 EC-C18 column (2.1 mm × 75 mm × 2.7 µm) utilizing two mobile phases 0.1% formic acid in water and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile in gradient flow. The validated AMR of TNT and its metabolites was 7.8-1000 ng/mL. The method showed an excellent correlation (>0.99) for TNT and its metabolites. Accuracy and within/between day precision of TNT and its metabolites were within ±15%. The integrity of diluted samples was maintained for each dilution factor. The method was found stable after storage and freeze-thaw cycle. The presented method can be used for TNT screening in occupationally exposed ordnance factory workers.