Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Canines can detect different diseases simply by smelling different biological sample types, including urine, breath and sweat. This has led researchers to try and discovery unique volatile organic compound (VOC) biomarkers. The power of VOC biomarkers lies in the fact that one day they may be able to be utilized for noninvasive, rapid and accurate diagnostics at a point of care using miniaturized biosensors. However, the identity of the specific VOC biomarkers must be demonstrated before designing and fabricating sensing systems. Through an extensive series of experiments, VOCs in urine are profiled by solid phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify biomarkers for breast cancer using murine models. The results from these experiments indicated that unique classes of urinary VOCs, primarily terpene/terpenoids and carbonyls, are potential biomarkers of breast cancer. Through implementing chemometric approaches, unique panels of VOCs were identified for breast cancer detection, identifying tumor location, determining the efficacy of dopaminergic antitumor treatments, and tracking cancer progression. Other diseases, including COVID-19 and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) were also probed to identify volatile biomarkers present in breath samples. VOC biomarker identification is an important step toward developing portable gas sensors, but another hurdle that exists is that current sensors lack selectivity toward specific VOCs of interest. Furthermore, testing sensors for sensitivity and selectivity is an extensive process as VOCs must be tested individually because the sensors do not have modes of chromatographic separation or compound identification. Another set of experiments is presented to demonstrate that SPME fibers can be coated with materials, used to extract standard solutions of VOCs, and analyzed by GC-MS to determine the performance of various gas sensing layers. In the first of these experiments, polyetherimide (PEI) was coated onto a SPME fiber and compared to commercial polyacrylate (PAA) fibers. The second experiment tuned the extraction efficiency of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) - carbon black (CB) composites and showed that they had higher sensitivity for urinary VOC extraction relative to a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) SPME fiber. These results demonstrate SPME GC-MS can rapidly characterize and tune the VOC adsorption capabilities of gas sensing layers.

Measuring lipid oxidation is useful as a means of monitoring oxidative stress, such as that induced by clinical conditions or environmental exposure. Characteristic volatile compounds, often with low threshold odors, are secondary products of lipid oxidation reactions. Metallic flavor in food and beverages has been linked with oxidation of lipids in the oral cavity. Breath, an emerging medium for analysis of internal condition, is one means of measuring the metal-induced lipid oxidation responsible for this flavor. This project analyzes the breath of human subjects, as well as lipid oxidation of in vitro samples to identify compounds responsible for producing metallic flavor, which result from the oxidation of lipids in the oral cavity. Because these analytes are found at extremely low (picomolar to nanomolar) concentrations, preconcentration of samples prior to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis is crucial. This study utilizes both solid phase microextraction (SPME) and micromachined silicon micropreconcentrators to concentrate compounds in breath to optimize analysis. / Master of Science

Sweet cream liquid buttermilk and skimmed milk ingredients were heat processed and/or exposed to fluorescent light to determine changes in potential flavor compounds. Solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography/flame ionization detection was used to analyze the concentrations of the volatile compounds (2-butanone, 2-pentanone, acetaldehyde, diacetyl, hexanal, methyl sulfide) found in the two components. Pasteurized unoxidized skimmed milk had measurable levels of 2-butanone, acetaldehyde, and diacetyl. Pasteurization of skimmed milk increased concentration of 2-pentanone and methyl sulfide to measurable levels. However only 2-butanone and acetaldehyde were detectable in oxidized skimmed milk. All liquid buttermilk ingredient treatments had measurable concentrations of 2-butanone, 2-pentanone, and acetaldehyde. Pasteurization of unoxidized liquid buttermilk increased the concentration of diacetyl and hexanal to measurable levels whereas oxidized buttermilk, both pasteurized and unpasteurized, had measurable levels of hexanal and methyl sulfide. Nonfat (.3%) dairy beverages were formulated using the same components to determine if the volatiles in liquid buttermilk might enhance the flavor of nonfat milk. Triangle tests and hedonic tests were performed on the nonfat formulations to determine their overall difference and overall acceptance. There was no significant difference between formulations. / Master of Science

O aleitamento materno está associado a benefícios de ordem nutricional, imunológica, afetiva, econômica e social. Grande parte das drogas lícitas e ilícitas consumidas pela lactante pode ser transferida para o leite, o que pode representar potenciais efeitos nocivos para a criança em curto e longo prazos. Embora o conhecimento a respeito de substâncias psicoativas durante a lactação venha sendo ampliado, ainda há poucas informações sobre as concentrações de substâncias excretadas por essa via e muitas dúvidas sobre os efeitos delas em crianças durante o período de amamentação. O leite materno é uma matriz não convencional que pode ser usada para avaliar a exposição de crianças a substâncias durante o aleitamento e sua principal vantagem é a coleta simples e não-invasiva. Contudo, a extração destas a partir do leite materno é um desafio analítico devido ao seu alto conteúdo lipídico e proteico, bem como a alteração na sua composição durante o período pós-parto. No presente trabalho, técnicas analíticas miniaturizadas foram desenvolvidas visando a detecção das substâncias psicoativas cocaína, cocaetileno, norcocaína, tetraidrocanabinol, canabinol, canabidiol em amostras de leite materno, utilizando cromatografia gasosa acoplada à espectrometria de massas (GC-MS). A microextração em fase líquida (LPME) foi aplicada para analitos de cocaína e a microextração em fase sólida (SPME) para canabinoides. Após o desenvolvimento e validação dos métodos, as análises foram aplicadas em amostras de leite coletadas no hospital municipal Dr. Arthur Ribeiro de Saboya (n=109). Além das técnicas terem se mostrado adequadas à extração e detecção dos analitos, confirmou-se a excreção de cocaína no leite materno em quantidades moderadas com resultado positivo para uma amostra (138 ng/mL). Bem como foi detectado tetraidrocanabinol nas concentrações de 20 ng/mL e 31 ng/mL em amostras de leite humano. / Maternal breastfeeding is related with nutritional, immunological, affective, economic, and social benefits. Most licit and illicit substances consumed by the nursing mother might be excreted in breast milk, which may cause potential harmful effects to the breastfed infant at short and long terms. Although the knowledge about the psychoactive substances during lactation is increasing, there is still few information on the levels in which these substances are excreted in breast milk and many questions about the possible effects of these substances in the infant during the nursing period still remain unanswered. Breast milk is an unconventional matrix that can be used to assess infant exposure to drugs, and its main advantage is its easy and non-invasive collection. However, the extraction of substances from breast milk is an analytical challenge because of its high protein and fat content and changing composition during the postpartum period. In this study, miniaturized analytical techniques will be carried out to determine psychoactive substances such as cocaine, cocaethylene, norcocaine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabinol, and cannabidiol in milk samples by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) was applied to cocaine analytes and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was applied to cannabinoids. After the development and validation, the methods were applied in milk samples collected from municipal hospital Dr. Arthur Ribeiro de Saboya (n=109). These techniques have proved to be suitable for analyte extraction and detection. Cocaine excretion in breast milk has been confirmed given that one sample was positive to cocaine in moderate amounts (138 ng/mL), as well as, two samples could be confirmed positive to tetrahydrocannabinol at 20 ng/mL and 31 ng/mL.

O aleitamento materno está associado a benefícios de ordem nutricional, imunológica, afetiva, econômica e social. Grande parte das drogas lícitas e ilícitas consumidas pela lactante pode ser transferida para o leite, o que pode representar potenciais efeitos nocivos para a criança em curto e longo prazos. Embora o conhecimento a respeito de substâncias psicoativas durante a lactação venha sendo ampliado, ainda há poucas informações sobre as concentrações de substâncias excretadas por essa via e muitas dúvidas sobre os efeitos delas em crianças durante o período de amamentação. O leite materno é uma matriz não convencional que pode ser usada para avaliar a exposição de crianças a substâncias durante o aleitamento e sua principal vantagem é a coleta simples e não-invasiva. Contudo, a extração destas a partir do leite materno é um desafio analítico devido ao seu alto conteúdo lipídico e proteico, bem como a alteração na sua composição durante o período pós-parto. No presente trabalho, técnicas analíticas miniaturizadas foram desenvolvidas visando a detecção das substâncias psicoativas cocaína, cocaetileno, norcocaína, tetraidrocanabinol, canabinol, canabidiol em amostras de leite materno, utilizando cromatografia gasosa acoplada à espectrometria de massas (GC-MS). A microextração em fase líquida (LPME) foi aplicada para analitos de cocaína e a microextração em fase sólida (SPME) para canabinoides. Após o desenvolvimento e validação dos métodos, as análises foram aplicadas em amostras de leite coletadas no hospital municipal Dr. Arthur Ribeiro de Saboya (n=109). Além das técnicas terem se mostrado adequadas à extração e detecção dos analitos, confirmou-se a excreção de cocaína no leite materno em quantidades moderadas com resultado positivo para uma amostra (138 ng/mL). Bem como foi detectado tetraidrocanabinol nas concentrações de 20 ng/mL e 31 ng/mL em amostras de leite humano. / Maternal breastfeeding is related with nutritional, immunological, affective, economic, and social benefits. Most licit and illicit substances consumed by the nursing mother might be excreted in breast milk, which may cause potential harmful effects to the breastfed infant at short and long terms. Although the knowledge about the psychoactive substances during lactation is increasing, there is still few information on the levels in which these substances are excreted in breast milk and many questions about the possible effects of these substances in the infant during the nursing period still remain unanswered. Breast milk is an unconventional matrix that can be used to assess infant exposure to drugs, and its main advantage is its easy and non-invasive collection. However, the extraction of substances from breast milk is an analytical challenge because of its high protein and fat content and changing composition during the postpartum period. In this study, miniaturized analytical techniques will be carried out to determine psychoactive substances such as cocaine, cocaethylene, norcocaine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabinol, and cannabidiol in milk samples by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) was applied to cocaine analytes and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was applied to cannabinoids. After the development and validation, the methods were applied in milk samples collected from municipal hospital Dr. Arthur Ribeiro de Saboya (n=109). These techniques have proved to be suitable for analyte extraction and detection. Cocaine excretion in breast milk has been confirmed given that one sample was positive to cocaine in moderate amounts (138 ng/mL), as well as, two samples could be confirmed positive to tetrahydrocannabinol at 20 ng/mL and 31 ng/mL.

A lamotrigina (LTG) é um fármaco pertencente à classe das feniltriazinas utilizado no tratamento de crises epilépticas generalizadas e focais e no tratamento adjunto da epilepsia refratária. Devido à alta variabilidade interindividual, às interações medicamentosas e aos efeitos adversos apresentados durante a administração da LTG, a monitorização terapêutica nos pacientes que fazem uso deste fármaco é necessária para ajuste de dose individual e evitar os efeitos adversos. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi a avaliação de duas técnicas de microextração: a microextração em fase líquida com fibras ocas (HF-LPME) e a microextração líquido-líquido dispersiva (DLLME) para análise da lamotrigina em amostras de plasma de pacientes epilépticos. Primeiramente foram definidas as condições eletroforéticas: foi utilizado um capilar de sílica fundida de 75 ?m de diâmetro interno e 50 cm de comprimento efetivo. O eletrólito de corrida (BGE) foi composto por ácido 2-morfolinoetanosulfônico (MES), na concentração de 130 mmol L-1 e pH 5,0. As análises foram realizadas à temperatura de 20°C e tensão de 15 kV. A amostra foi injetada hidrodinamicamente (0,5 psi por 10 s) e a detecção foi feita em 214 nm. Nestas condições a LTG e o padrão interno (PI), lidocaína, puderam ser analisados em menos de 7 minutos. A HF-LPME foi avaliada no modo de 3 fases, usando 500 ?L de plasma e 3,5 mL de solução fosfato de sódio 50 mmol L-1 pH 9,0 como fase doadora. O solvente utilizado para impregnar a fibra foi o 1-octanol. Como fase aceptora foram utilizados 60 ?L de solução de ácido clorídrico pH 4,0. Para avaliação da DLLME, foi necessária uma etapa de pré-tratamento da amostra (500 ?L de plasma) com 1 mL de acetonitrila. Após isto, 1,3 mL do sobrenadante foram adicionados a 4 mL de solução fosfato de sódio 50 mmol L-1 pH 9,0 e 120 ?L de clorofórmio (solvente extrator) foram injetados nesta amostra aquosa e 165 ?L de fase sedimentada foram recuperados. As características de desempenho analítico para ambos os métodos foram avaliadas, sendo obtida linearidade na faixa de concentração plasmática de 1-20 ?g/mL e limite inferior de quantificação (LIQ) de 1 ?g mL-1. Os ensaios de precisão e exatidão apresentaram valores de acordo com os guias oficiais. Além disso, os métodos foram seletivos, não apresentaram efeito residual e as amostras foram estáveis. Os valores de recuperação foram de 54,3 e 23% para HF-LPME e DLLME, respectivamente. Os métodos validados foram aplicados com sucesso em amostras de plasma de pacientes epilépticos em tratamento com a LTG. Além disso, as duas técnicas foram comparadas e a HF-LPME apresentou vantagens em relação à DLLME, mostrando ser uma técnica promissora para análise de matrizes complexas, com reduzido consumo de solvente orgânico e possibilidade de automação. / Lamotrigine (LTG) is an antiepileptic drug, which belongs to the class of phenyltriazine that can be used in the treatment of new-onset and refractory epilepsy. Due to its high interindividual variability, drug interactions and the adverse effects presented during the LTG administration, therapeutic drug monitoring is very important to dose adjustment and to avoid toxicity effects. Thus, the goal of this study was to develop and validate two microextraction techniques: the hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) and the dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) to analyze LTG in plasma samples of epileptic patients. First of all, the eletroforetic conditions were optimized. A fused-silica uncoated capillary with 75 ?m internal diameter, and 50 cm effective length was used. The 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES) 130 mmol L-1 pH 5.0 was chosen as background electrolyte (BGE). The temperature and the voltage were kept constant at 20°C and 15 kV respectively. For sample injection, hydrodynamic injection mode was used, with a pressure of 0.5 psi applied for 10 s. The wavelength was set at 214 nm. Under final conditions, LTG and the internal standard (IS) lidocaine were analyzed in less than 7 minutes. HF-LPME was evaluated in the three phase mode. The analyte was extracted from 4.0 mL of a basic donor phase (composed of 500 ?L of plasma and 3.5 mL of sodium phosphate solution 50 mmol L-1 pH 9.0) into an organic phase composed of 1-octanol immobilized in the pores of the hollow fiber, and further into an acidic acceptor phase (hydrochloric acid solution pH 4.0) placed in the lumen of the fiber. To evaluate DLLME, the plasma samples were pretreated to remove the proteins, and 500 ?L of plasma sample was mixed with 1 mL of acetonitrile. After that, 1,3 mL of the upper layer was added to 4 mL of sodium phosphate solution 50 mmol L-1 pH 9.0, and 120 ?L of chloroform (extracting solvent) was rapidly injected in the aqueous sample and 165 ?L of the sedimented phase was collected. Under the optimized conditions, both methods were linear over the plasmatic concentration range of 1.0-20.0 ?g mL-1 and the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 1.0 ?g mL-1. Both methods showed good precision, accuracy, selectivity to LTG, with no carryover and the samples were stable under the studied conditions. The recovery were 54,3 and 23% to HF-LPME and DLLME respectively. The validated methods were successfully applied for the quantification of LTG in plasma samples of epileptic patients. The techniques were compared and HF-LPME was more advantageous for being more suitable to analysis of complex matrices using small amount of organic solvent, and also can be automated.

The drug abuse has created several problems, moral, social and economical, and does not have borders of social class, educational and religious. The chemicaltoxicological analysis is an indispensable resource to confirm the exposure of humans to these drugs. Depending on the purpose of analysis, various biological matrices can be used. Nowadays, hair is being recognized as a third fundamental biological sample for drug testing besides urine and blood. The collection of hair samples is simple, noninvasive being difficult its adulteration. The techniques based on the miniaturization of extraction have gained an important role on the world stage in relation to conventional techniques. Among these techniques, stand out to solid phase microextraction (SPME) and liquid phase microextraction (LPME). In this work, a analytical method was developed for determination of 9- tetrahydrocannabinol (9-THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN) in human hair by headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, operating in tandem mode (GC-MS/MS). Initially, in step sample preparation, a small mass of hair (10 mg) was decontaminated with petroleum ether (2 mL) for 10 minutes of ultrasound application (3 times) followed by alkaline digestion (NaOH 1 M). A univariate design was used for the determination the better condictions of the parameters of HS-SPME: pH (10), temperature (90 °C), mass of hair (10 mg), extraction time (40 min), desorption time (10 min), ionic strength (Na2CO3), saturation time (10 min) and fiber (PDMS). For HF-LPME a fractional factorial design was used in the screening of some variables of this technique followed by central composite design in the evaluation of optimal values of variables. The variables assessed and the optimum values of these were: extraction solvent (butyl acetate), donor phase pH (14), agitation speed (600 rpm), extraction time (20 min), ionic strength (6.8 % m/v) and acceptor phase volume (20 μL). The methods were submitted to the validation process showed good linearity with coefficient of determination (R2) above 0.994. Precision was determined using two different concentrations (upper and lower limits of the linear range) and RSD values were between 6.6 and 16.4 % for HS-SPME and 4.4-13.7% for HF-LPME. Absolute recoveries were in the range 1.1 to 8.7 % (HS-SPME) and 4.4 to 8.9 % (HF-LPME). The limits of detection and quantification ranged between 7-62 pg mg-1 and from 0.0005-0.020 ng mg-1 to HS-LPME and HF-LPME, respectively. The 9-THC showed values of limits of quantification for both methods below the cut-off (LQ ≤ 100 pg mg-1). Finally, the methods developed and validated were applied in determining CBD, 9-THC and CBN in hair samples of patients from a center of rehabilitation for drug addicts. The concentrations were in the range of LD-0.018 ng mg-1 for CBD, LD-232 pg mg-1 for 9-THC and 9-300 pg mg-1 for CBN show the applicability of the method in monitoring studies. The concentration of cannabinoids in the samples ranged from limit of detection to 18 pg mg-1 for CBD, limit of detection to 232 pg mg -1 for 9-THC and 9 to 300 pg mg-1 to CBN demonstrate the applicability of the method in monitoring studies. / O consumo de drogas de abuso tem criado diversos problemas de ordem moral, social e econômica, além de não possuir fronteiras de classes sociais, educacionais e religiosas. A análise químico-toxicológica é um recurso indispensável para confirmar a exposição de pessoas a essas drogas. Dependendo da finalidade da análise, diversas matrizes biológicas podem ser utilizadas. Atualmente, o cabelo é reconhecido como uma das principais amostras biológicas para determinação de drogas, ao lado da urina e do sangue. A coleta de amostras de cabelo é um processo simples, não invasivo, sendo difícil sua adulteração. As técnicas baseadas na minituarização de extração têm ganhado um papel importante no cenário mundial frente às técnicas convencionais. Entre essas técnicas destacam-se a microextração em fase sólida (SPME) e a microextração em fase líquida (LPME). No presente trabalho, um método analítico foi desenvolvido para determinação de 9-tetraidrocanabinol (9- THC), canabidiol (CBD) e canabinol (CBN) em cabelo humano por microextração em fase sólida no modo headspace (HS-SPME) e microextração em fase líquida por fibra oca (HF-LPME) por cromatografia em fase gasosa e espectrometria de massas operando no modo tandem (GC-MS/MS). Na etapa de preparação da amostra, uma pequena massa de cabelo (10 mg) foi descontaminada com éter de petróleo (2 mL) por 10 minutos em ultra-som (3X), seguida de digestão alcalina (NaOH 1 mol L-1). Um planejamento univariado foi utilizado para o estudo das condições ótimas dos parâmetros de HS-SPME, tendo sido deferidos: pH (10), temperatura (90 ºC); massa de cabelo (10 mg); tempo de extração (40 min); tempo de dessorção (10 min); força iônica (Na2CO3); tempo de saturação (10 min) e fibra (PDMS). Para HF-LPME um planejamento fatorial fracionário foi empregado na triagem de algumas variáveis desta técnica seguido pelo planejamento composto central na avaliação dos valores ótimos das variáveis escolhidas: solvente de extração (acetato de butila), pH da fase doadora (14), velocidade de agitação (600 rpm), tempo de extração (20 min), força iônica (6,8 % m/v) e volume da fase aceptora (20 μL). Os métodos foram submetidos ao processo de validação demonstrando boa linearidade, com coeficientes de determinação (R2) acima de 0,994. A precisão foi determinada a partir dos limites inferior e superior da faixa linear apresentando valores de RSD entre 6,6 e 16,4% para HS-SPME e 4,4-13,7 % para HF-LPME. Recuperações absolutas foram de 1,1 a 8,7 % (HS-SPME) e 4,4 a 8,9 % (HF-LPME). Os limites de detecção (LD) e quantificação (LQ) foram de 7 a 62 pg mg-1 e 0,5 a 20 pg mg-1 para HS-SPME e HFLPME, respectivamente. O 9-THC apresentou valores de limites de quantificação para os dois métodos abaixo do valor de cut-off (LQ ≤ 100 pg mg-1). Finalmente, os métodos desenvolvidos e validados foram aplicados na determinação de CBD, 9- THC e CBN em amostras de cabelo de pacientes de centro de reabilitação de dependentes químicos. As concentrações dos canabinóides nas amostras variaram do limite de detecção a 18 pg mg-1 para CBD, do limite de detecção a 232 pg mg-1 para 9-THC e 9-300 pg mg-1 para CBN, demonstram a aplicabilidade do método em estudos de monitorização.

A lamotrigina (LTG) é um fármaco pertencente à classe das feniltriazinas utilizado no tratamento de crises epilépticas generalizadas e focais e no tratamento adjunto da epilepsia refratária. Devido à alta variabilidade interindividual, às interações medicamentosas e aos efeitos adversos apresentados durante a administração da LTG, a monitorização terapêutica nos pacientes que fazem uso deste fármaco é necessária para ajuste de dose individual e evitar os efeitos adversos. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi a avaliação de duas técnicas de microextração: a microextração em fase líquida com fibras ocas (HF-LPME) e a microextração líquido-líquido dispersiva (DLLME) para análise da lamotrigina em amostras de plasma de pacientes epilépticos. Primeiramente foram definidas as condições eletroforéticas: foi utilizado um capilar de sílica fundida de 75 ?m de diâmetro interno e 50 cm de comprimento efetivo. O eletrólito de corrida (BGE) foi composto por ácido 2-morfolinoetanosulfônico (MES), na concentração de 130 mmol L-1 e pH 5,0. As análises foram realizadas à temperatura de 20°C e tensão de 15 kV. A amostra foi injetada hidrodinamicamente (0,5 psi por 10 s) e a detecção foi feita em 214 nm. Nestas condições a LTG e o padrão interno (PI), lidocaína, puderam ser analisados em menos de 7 minutos. A HF-LPME foi avaliada no modo de 3 fases, usando 500 ?L de plasma e 3,5 mL de solução fosfato de sódio 50 mmol L-1 pH 9,0 como fase doadora. O solvente utilizado para impregnar a fibra foi o 1-octanol. Como fase aceptora foram utilizados 60 ?L de solução de ácido clorídrico pH 4,0. Para avaliação da DLLME, foi necessária uma etapa de pré-tratamento da amostra (500 ?L de plasma) com 1 mL de acetonitrila. Após isto, 1,3 mL do sobrenadante foram adicionados a 4 mL de solução fosfato de sódio 50 mmol L-1 pH 9,0 e 120 ?L de clorofórmio (solvente extrator) foram injetados nesta amostra aquosa e 165 ?L de fase sedimentada foram recuperados. As características de desempenho analítico para ambos os métodos foram avaliadas, sendo obtida linearidade na faixa de concentração plasmática de 1-20 ?g/mL e limite inferior de quantificação (LIQ) de 1 ?g mL-1. Os ensaios de precisão e exatidão apresentaram valores de acordo com os guias oficiais. Além disso, os métodos foram seletivos, não apresentaram efeito residual e as amostras foram estáveis. Os valores de recuperação foram de 54,3 e 23% para HF-LPME e DLLME, respectivamente. Os métodos validados foram aplicados com sucesso em amostras de plasma de pacientes epilépticos em tratamento com a LTG. Além disso, as duas técnicas foram comparadas e a HF-LPME apresentou vantagens em relação à DLLME, mostrando ser uma técnica promissora para análise de matrizes complexas, com reduzido consumo de solvente orgânico e possibilidade de automação. / Lamotrigine (LTG) is an antiepileptic drug, which belongs to the class of phenyltriazine that can be used in the treatment of new-onset and refractory epilepsy. Due to its high interindividual variability, drug interactions and the adverse effects presented during the LTG administration, therapeutic drug monitoring is very important to dose adjustment and to avoid toxicity effects. Thus, the goal of this study was to develop and validate two microextraction techniques: the hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) and the dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) to analyze LTG in plasma samples of epileptic patients. First of all, the eletroforetic conditions were optimized. A fused-silica uncoated capillary with 75 ?m internal diameter, and 50 cm effective length was used. The 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES) 130 mmol L-1 pH 5.0 was chosen as background electrolyte (BGE). The temperature and the voltage were kept constant at 20°C and 15 kV respectively. For sample injection, hydrodynamic injection mode was used, with a pressure of 0.5 psi applied for 10 s. The wavelength was set at 214 nm. Under final conditions, LTG and the internal standard (IS) lidocaine were analyzed in less than 7 minutes. HF-LPME was evaluated in the three phase mode. The analyte was extracted from 4.0 mL of a basic donor phase (composed of 500 ?L of plasma and 3.5 mL of sodium phosphate solution 50 mmol L-1 pH 9.0) into an organic phase composed of 1-octanol immobilized in the pores of the hollow fiber, and further into an acidic acceptor phase (hydrochloric acid solution pH 4.0) placed in the lumen of the fiber. To evaluate DLLME, the plasma samples were pretreated to remove the proteins, and 500 ?L of plasma sample was mixed with 1 mL of acetonitrile. After that, 1,3 mL of the upper layer was added to 4 mL of sodium phosphate solution 50 mmol L-1 pH 9.0, and 120 ?L of chloroform (extracting solvent) was rapidly injected in the aqueous sample and 165 ?L of the sedimented phase was collected. Under the optimized conditions, both methods were linear over the plasmatic concentration range of 1.0-20.0 ?g mL-1 and the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 1.0 ?g mL-1. Both methods showed good precision, accuracy, selectivity to LTG, with no carryover and the samples were stable under the studied conditions. The recovery were 54,3 and 23% to HF-LPME and DLLME respectively. The validated methods were successfully applied for the quantification of LTG in plasma samples of epileptic patients. The techniques were compared and HF-LPME was more advantageous for being more suitable to analysis of complex matrices using small amount of organic solvent, and also can be automated.

The growing need for fast sampling of explosives in high throughput areas has increased the demand for improved technology for the trace detection of illicit compounds. Detection of the volatiles associated with the presence of the illicit compounds offer a different approach for sensitive trace detection of these compounds without increasing the false positive alarm rate. This study evaluated the performance of non-contact sampling and detection systems using statistical analysis through the construction of Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves in real-world scenarios for the detection of volatiles in the headspace of smokeless powder, used as the model system for generalizing explosives detection. A novel sorbent coated disk coined planar solid phase microextraction (PSPME) was previously used for rapid, non-contact sampling of the headspace containers. The limits of detection for the PSPME coupled to IMS detection was determined to be 0.5-24 ng for vapor sampling of volatile chemical compounds associated with illicit compounds and demonstrated an extraction efficiency of three times greater than other commercially available substrates, retaining >50% of the analyte after 30 minutes sampling of an analyte spike in comparison to a non-detect for the unmodified filters. Both static and dynamic PSPME sampling was used coupled with two ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) detection systems in which 10-500 mg quantities of smokeless powders were detected within 5-10 minutes of static sampling and 1 minute of dynamic sampling time in 1-45 L closed systems, resulting in faster sampling and analysis times in comparison to conventional solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) analysis. Similar real-world scenarios were sampled in low and high clutter environments with zero false positive rates. Excellent PSPME-IMS detection of the volatile analytes were visualized from the ROC curves, resulting with areas under the curves (AUC) of 0.85-1.0 and 0.81-1.0 for portable and bench-top IMS systems, respectively. Construction of ROC curves were also developed for SPME-GC-MS resulting with AUC of 0.95-1.0, comparable with PSPME-IMS detection. The PSPME-IMS technique provides less false positive results for non-contact vapor sampling, cutting the cost and providing an effective sampling and detection needed in high-throughput scenarios, resulting in similar performance in comparison to well-established techniques with the added advantage of fast detection in the field.

A depressão, tida como a doença do final do século XX, acarreta diversos distúrbios físicos, mentais e emocionais. Amitriptilina,. imipramina, nortriptilina e desipramina são antidepressivos tricíclicos (ADT) largamente usados no tratamento de desordens depressivas. Os ADT são fármacos que apresentam alta variabilidade interindividual na farmacocinética e resposta clínica não facilmente ou não imediatamente mensurável. Assim faz-se necessário o desenvolvimento e validação de métodos analíticos capazes de determinar com a devida confiabilidade suas concentrações em amostras de plasma. Os métodos desenvolvidos possuem uma etapa de extração para posterior separação e quantificação. Os métodos de extração avaliados foram a extração líquido-líquido (LLE) e a microextração em fase sólida (SPME). As técnicas usadas para separação e quantificação foram cromatografia líquida (LC) e eletroforese capilar (CE). Dois métodos foram desenvolvidos e validados: LLE/LC e LLE/CE. Usando uma fibra com recobrimento PDMS 100 mm, um método SPME/LC (modo de dessorção off-line) foi desenvolvido e os parâmetros relativos a SPME foram otimizados fazendo uso de planejamento fatorial (23) e simplex. Usando as mesmas condições otimizadas para a fibra PDMS testou-se uma fibra PDMS/DVB 65 mm. Avaliou-se a CE para a determinação dos ADT em formulações farmacêuticas e o comportamento eletroforético destes compostos em diferentes meio (água, metanol e acetonitrila) foi avaliado. De acordo com os parâmetros avaliados (linearidade, precisão (intra e inter ensaios), recuperação, limites de quantificação (LOQ) e detecção) ambos os métodos (LLE/LC e LLE/CE) mostraram-se aplicáveis para a determinação dos ADT em níveis plasmáticos. O método SPME/LC (off-line) que fez uso da fibra com recobrimento PDMS/DVB apresentou LOQ suficientemente baixos para determinar os ADT em concentrações plasmáticas, apesar de consumir um tempo maior para execução, quando comparado aos métodos LLE/LE e LLE/CE. A validação e aplicação de um método fazendo uso de CE para a análise dos ADT em formulações farmacêuticas mostra a aplicabilidade desta técnica para análises de rotina. Determinou-se por CE o pKa* dos ADT em água, metanol e ACN. A ordem dos valores obtidos em meio aquoso e metanólico é inversa em relação a ordem obtida em ACN. Assim, pôde-se correlacionar a carga das espécies em cada condição de análise com a ordem de migração dos ADT em cada meio. / Depressive disorders imply in a variety of physical, mental and emotional disturbances. Amitriptyline, imipramine, nortriptyline e desipramine are tricyclic antidepressants (TAD) largely used in depression treatment. The TADs are drugs that show high inter individual variability in pharmacokinetics, low clinical response or even they are not straightforwardly measured. Therefore, it is necessary the development and validation of analytical methods for TAD determination in plasma samples. The developed methods have an extraction step for subsequently separation and quantification. The extraction methods appraised were liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and solid phase microextraction (SPME). The analytical techniques used for separation and further quantification were liquid chromatography (LC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE). Two methods were developed and validated: LLE/LC and LLE/CE. Using a PDMS coating (100 mm), a SPME/LC method (with off-line dessorption) was developed and the experimental conditions relative to SPME were optimized using a factorial planning (23) and a simplex methodology. The same optimized conditions (for PDMS) were used for a PDMS/DVB (65 mm) coating. According to the appraised parameters such as linearity, precision (intra and inter assays), recovery and limits of quantification and detection, the methods LLE/LC and LLE/CE showed suitable for TAD determination in plasma samples regarding the therapeutic plasmatic concentration. The SPME/LC method (off-line desorption) with PDMS/DVB coating has also shown LOQ lower than the minimum therapeutic plasmatic concentration, implying that may be subject to validation. This method may be used for TAD analysis even though the total analysis time was greater those from LLE/LC and LLE/CE methods. CE was also applied for TAD determination in pharmaceutical formulations and the electrophoretic behavior such compounds in different separation media, especially non-aqueous solvents, was studied. The validation and application of a method using CE for TAD determination in pharmaceutical formulations has shown the applicability of this technique for routine analysis. The migration order in aqueous and methanolic media is opposite to obtained in acetonitrile, and the pKa* of the TAD were determined in different media (aqueous, methanol and acetonitrile) by CE. With the calculated values, it was possible to correlate the species total charge to the migration order in each medium.