Showing papers by "Loralie J. Langman published in 2009"
TL;DR: Methods of chromatographic analysis of serum cotinine, as used by these experienced laboratories, are capable of providing accurate and precise results in both the smoker and the nonsmoker concentration range.
Abstract: Introduction Cotinine, the primary proximate metabolite of nicotine, is commonly measured as an index of exposure to tobacco in both active users of tobacco and nonsmokers with possible exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS). A number of laboratories have implemented analyses for measuring serum cotinine in recent years, but there have been few interlaboratory comparisons of the results. Among nonsmokers exposed to SHS, the concentration of cotinine in blood can be quite low, and extensive variability in these measurements has been reported in the past. Methods In this study, a group of seven laboratories, all experienced in serum cotinine analysis, measured eight coded serum pools with concentrations ranging from background levels of about 0.05 ng/ml to relatively high concentrations in the active smokers range. All laboratories used either gas-liquid chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection or liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. Results All seven laboratories reliably measured the cotinine concentrations in samples that were within the range of their methods. In each case, the results for the pools were correctly ranked in order, and no significant interlaboratory bias was observed at the 5% level of significance for results from any of the pools. Discussion We conclude that present methods of chromatographic analysis of serum cotinine, as used by these experienced laboratories, are capable of providing accurate and precise results in both the smoker and the nonsmoker concentration range.
65 citations
TL;DR: A sensitive method to identify clinically and forensically relevant cocaine and associated analytes at concentrations as low as 1.0 ng/mL is reported here on.
Abstract: Cocaine (COC) is a potent CNS stimulant that is metabolized to benzoylecgonine (BE) and further metabolized to minor metabolites such as m-hydroxybenzoylecgonine (m-HOBE). COC is also metabolized to norcocaine (NC). Cocaethylene (CE) is formed when cocaine and ethyl alcohol are used simultaneously. Anhydroecgonine methyl ester (AEME) is a unique marker following smoked cocaine, and anhydroecgonine ethyl ester (AEEE) is found in cocaine smokers who also use ethyl alcohol. We developed a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) method for the detection and quantitation of COC, BE, NC, CE, m-HOBE, AEME, and AEEE in urine. Two hundred samples previously analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) coupled with MS were extracted using solid-phase extraction. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a gradient consisting of mobile phase A [20 mM ammonium formate (pH 2.7)] and mobile phase B (methanol/acetonitrile, 50:50), an XDB-C(8) (50 x 2.1 mm, 1.8 microm) column and a flow rate of 270 microL/min. Concentrations were calculated by comparing the peak-area with the internal standard and plotted against a standard curve. The assay displayed linearity from 1.0 to 100 ng/mL. Within- and between-run coefficients of variation were < 10% throughout the linear range. A method comparison between GC-MS and LC-MS-MS showed good correlation for COC (r(2) = 0.982) and BE (r(2) = 0.955). We report here on a sensitive method to identify clinically and forensically relevant cocaine and associated analytes at concentrations as low as 1.0 ng/mL.
27 citations