Tramadol is a widely prescribed analgesic used in the treatment of moderate to severe pain and as an alternative to opiates.Analytical procedures for the determination of tramadol and its major metabolites, O-desmethyltramadol (M1) and N-desmethyltramadol (M2) in human urine have been developed and validated using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Sample preparation involved liquid–liquid extraction with tert.-butylmethyl ether (MTBE) and back extraction with 0.1N hydrochloric acid. Proadifen (SKF525A) was selected as internal standard (IS). Extraction efficiencies of tramadol, M1 and M2 were 101.88%, 98.51% and 108.65% respectively. For qualitative analysis we operated in scan mode and for quantitative analysis in SIM mode, selecting the ions m/z 58 for tramadol and M1, m/z 188 for M2 and m/z 86 for IS. The calibration curves were linear (r2>0.997) in the concentration range 10–1000 ng/mL for all compounds. The lower limit of quantitation was 10 ng/mL for tramadol and M1, and 20 ng/mL for M2. The intra-day precision of the assay (n=6) for the measurement of QC samples at three concentrations was in the range 2.29–5.82%, 1.29–6.88% and 1.46–6.78% for tramadol, M1 and M2, respectively; inter-day precision was in the range 2.12-3.73%, 1.14-6.50% and 3.04-5.48% for tramadol, M1 and M2, respectively; the intra-day accuracy was in the range 90.40–100.87%, 94.81–107.06% and 99.94–103.20% for tramadol, M1 and M2, respectively. Data on solution stability at room temperature and 4°C in urine samples, freeze–thaw-stability, sample extract stability as well as dilution factor and matrix effects have been evaluated andwill be presented. The application of the assay was demonstrated by simultaneous measurement of urine concentrations of T, M1, and M2 in samples from healthy volunteers after the administration of a 50 mg oral doses of tramadol.

Abstract

In the present study samarium - 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) complex was prepared to enhance the effectiveness of the 5-FU drug. This complex was characterized by UV/VIS spectrometry high performance liquid chromatography and differential scanning calorimetry. Furthermore, the antitumor effect of the prepared complex was explored on the human colon cancer cell Caco2 via evaluation of the cytotoxic activity of this complex through trypan blue cell viability. Apoptosis was also assessed through morphological changes, by Annexin V=PI flow cytometric analysis. The results revealed that the trivalent Sm enhance the 5-FU effect against the chemo-resistant colorectal carcinoma cell line.

Abstract:

Aflatoxins (AFs) are chemically secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium genera. It has adverse effects on humans and animals health due to inhibition of macromolecule synthesis. The current research investigate the pathological and biochemical changes in lymph follicles of female rats exposed to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) for one month and the efficacy of isolated bradykinin potentiating factor (BPF) from cobra snake venom, butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) and oltipraz (OPZ) to ameliorate those changes. Aflatoxicosis cause significant increase of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and nitric oxide (NO) in addition to significant decrease in the level of total thiols, glutathione (GSH) and the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione S-transferase (GST). Moreover, AFB1 caused histopathological changes in lymph follicles represented by depletion of the lymphoid cells. Treatment of aflatoxicosed rats with BPF, BHT or OPZ resulting in amelioration of the oxidative stress markers and improvement in the histological structure of lymph follicles represented by increase of lymphoid cell population with presence of mast cells and collagen bundle. In conclusion BPF, BHT or OPZ ameliorate the aflatoxicosis with priority for the BPF.