GEN-MKT-18-7897-A
Feb 16, 2017 | Blogs, Forensic | 0 comments
While most analytes in forensic applications analyze well with positive ionization, there are analytes that show better ionization efficiency with negative ionization, for example, acidic compounds. These analytes include ethanol metabolites such as ethyl glucuronide (ETG), ethyl sulfate (ETS), and the barbiturates such as amobarbital, butabarbital, butalbital, pentobarbital, phenobarbital, and secobarbital.
In this technical note, researchers demonstrated a method to simultaneously analyze ethanol metabolites and barbiturates in human urine using QTRAP®/Triple Quad 4500 LC-MS/MS system. Sample preparation is based on a simple “dilute and shoot” methodology. The method has a total runtime of 5 minutes, shows good sensitivity and is very robust. More than 800 continuous injections of human urine samples were performed on a single LC column with no deterioration in performance evident.
How does this test play out in real-world scenarios? ETG and ETS are biomarkers for determining the presence of alcohol over the past 80 hours where ETG is the direct metabolite of alcohol. ETG is only detected if alcohol has been consumed. What is more is that urine tests are the most common and inexpensive choice when testing for drug use and can be easily captured. Making sure results stand up in court, but also being able to run simultaneous drug screenings will help your lab keep up with sample workloads while also producing reliable results.
Depending on the samples that you are running on the system, it is possible for the Echo MS electrode to become dirty or occluded over time. Below are two different cleaning strategies that will be helpful for you to maintain your system and keep your electrodes running well.
Developing an analytical method can be one of the most rewarding jobs an analytical scientist can do, but it can also be one of the most complex and frustrating. To help guide your practical experiments and thought processes we spoke to Kean Woodmansey to benefit from his experience.
As analytical organizations grow, there is an even greater need to train scientists and operators more consistently to meet tight deadlines, handle increasing samples, and meet data quality expectations. A high rate of employee turnover also affects the productivity of labs worldwide. Consistent training helps today’s labs stay competitive, whether the goal is sample throughput, therapeutic development, or publication.
Posted by
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Share this post with your network