Search results for "Narcotics"
showing 10 items of 43 documents
Direct ELISA kits as a sensitive and selective screening method for abstinence control in urine.
2011
In 2009 cutoff values of assessment criteria to testify abstinence control in order to estimate driving ability were standardized in Germany. The cutoff values are lower than required in existing guidelines like SAMHSA and there is critical discussion about detection of low concentrations by using immunoassay, especially concerning amphetamines in urine (50 ng/ml). In this study Direct ELISA kits were tested for their applicability to identify the absence of amphetamines, cannabinoids, opiates, cocaine, methadone and benzodiazepines in urine. Results were confirmed by LC/MS or GC/MS analyses. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values (positive as well as negative) and overall misclassific…
Influence of sample preparation on analytical results: drug analysis [GC/MS] on hair snippets versus hair powder using various extraction methods
1997
The comparison of aqueous extraction methods and hair extraction by organic solvents performed on hair powder as well as on hair snippets of the same sample revealed different qualities of the procedures. Qualitative and quantitative results by the same derivatization step and GC/MS detection demonstrated, that the risk of missing a drug substance is higher using hair snippets than after drug extraction on pulverised hair. Drug recovery for opiates, cocaine and benzoylecgonine from hair was found to be best in aqueous solvents or in methanol extracts. The results are discussed under the aspects of solid-phase extraction, the hair sample representing an inhomogenous material. The localisatio…
On cosmetically treated hair — aspects and pitfalls of interpretation
1997
Popular hair cosmetic treatments like bleaching or permanent waving were found to affect the stability of incorporated drugs and to cause alterations of the fibers at an ultrastructural level. This may result in a partial or complete loss of drug substances, depending on the particular drug molecule and on its concentration prior to the cosmetic treatment. Moreover, from literature, there is some evidence that drug molecules are not only incorporated into the growing fiber by passive diffusion from blood into the matrix cells and melanocytes, but that the substances enter the hair also via perspiration such as sweat and sebum. Since permed and bleached hair shows an enhanced sorption capaci…
Opioid switching from and to tapentadol extended release in cancer patients: conversion ratio with other opioids
2013
Objectives: The aim of this exploratory study was to assess the conversion ratios between tapentadol and other opioids in patients requiring an opioid switching. Methods: A prospective study was carried out in a convenience sample of consecutive patients admitted to an acute palliative care unit and a home care unit for a period of 1 year. Patients who were switched from/to tapentadol were selected. The initial ratio between tapentadol and other opioids, expressed as oral morphine equivalents was 1:3.3. The subsequent doses were flexible and were changed to fit the patients’ needs. Pain intensity and distress score were recorded until opioid doses were stable. In all, 37 patients were exami…
Cross-reinstatement by cocaine and amphetamine of morphine-induced place preference in mice
2005
The cross-reinstatement by psychostimulants of a conditioned place preference (CPP) induced by morphine was evaluated in mice. In Experiment 1, we examined the effects of a single dose of cocaine and amphetamine on a previously extinguished morphine CPP. After acquisition of CPP induced by morphine (40 mg/kg), animals underwent daily extinction sessions of 15 min duration until the CPP was extinguished. Subsequently, animals received a non-contingent injection of cocaine (25 mg/kg) or amphetamine (4 mg/kg), which produced the reinstatement of the extinguished morphine-induced CPP. In Experiment 2, we evaluated the reinstating effects of several priming doses of cocaine (Experiment 2A) or am…
Intracellular glutathione in human hepatocytes incubated with S-adenosyl-L-methionine and GSH-depleting drugs
1991
Abstract The present study was undertaken to investigate (a) whether S- adenosyl- L -methionine (SAMe) added to culture medium can increase intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels in human hepatocytes and (b) whether SAMe can prevent the GSH depletion found in human hepatocytes incubated with GSH-depleting drugs (paracetamol, opiates, ethanol). Incubation of hepatocytes with increasing concentrations of SAMe resulted in a dose-dependent elevation of intracellular GSH content, which reached its maximum (35% increase) at 30 μM after 20 h. SAMe, as the only sulfur source in the medium, was efficient in repleting GSH-depleted hepatocytes following treatment with diethyl maleate. Incubation of hu…
A green method for the determination of cocaine in illicit samples
2013
Abstract Direct determination of cocaine in untreated seized samples has been made based on diffuse reflectance measurements of the near infrared (NIR) radiation through samples contained inside standard glass vials. The method used a series of previously analyzed samples, by the reference gas chromatography method, to build a partial least squares calibration model which was validated using an independent set of samples. The use of a general model for samples containing from 11.38% till 86.44% (w/w) cocaine was based on the use of spectral ranges from 12500.7 to 10128.6, 9339.8 to 6967.7 and 5388.3 to 4597.6 cm−1 with previous first derivative and vector normalization data pre-processing a…
Stability of opiates in hair fibers after exposure to cosmetic treatment.
1996
Abstract The stability of opiates in clipped natural human hair was investigated. Hair fibers were incubated with defined solutions of morphine, codeine and dihydrocodeine (pH 7.4) until saturated. Original opiate-positive hair samples collected from drug addicts also were examined. Commercially available bleaching as well as perming formulas (Poly Blonde Ultra®, Poly Lock®; Henkel, Dusseldorf, Germany) were applied in vitro to the hair strands of both groups under investigation. After these treatments, the drug concentration had decreased for both bleaching and permanent waving. In the spiked hair, only 2–18% of the starting solution could be found after bleaching. About 20–30% of the drug…
Experimental Investigations on Hair Fibers as Diffusion Bridges and Opiates as Solutes in Solution
1996
Diffusion experiments were performed using clipped hair fibers as diffusion bridges and aqueous solutions of morphine, codeine and dihydrocodeine. Natural as well as predamaged hair fibers were investigated. The test series were conducted at ambient temperature and at high humidity. After 312 or 372 hours the middle segments of the strands were clipped, washed and analyzed by GC/MS. Only when virgin hair samples were used the solutes passed along the fiber at full length resulting in a positive immunological finding at the end of the diffusion bridge. Most of the washing fluids were positive for opiates. All centerpieces had a high opiate content. The opiate concentration in damaged hair wa…