A review of bioanalytical techniques for evaluation of cannabis (Marijuana, weed, Hashish) in human hair

Cannabis products (marijuana, weed, hashish) are among the most widely abused psychoactive drugs in the world, due to their euphorigenic and anxiolytic properties. Recently, hair analysis is of great interest in analytical, clinical, and forensic sciences due to its non-invasiveness, negligible risk of infection and tampering, facile storage, and a wider window of detection. Hair analysis is now widely accepted as evidence in courts around the world. Hair analysis is very feasible to complement saliva, blood tests, and urinalysis. In this review, we have focused on state of the art in hair analysis of cannabis with particular attention to hair sample preparation for cannabis analysis involving pulverization, extraction and screening techniques followed by confirmatory tests (e.g., GC–MS and LC–MS/MS). We have reviewed the literature for the past 10 years’ period with special emphasis on cannabis quantification using mass spectrometry. The pros and cons of all the published methods have also been discussed along with the prospective future of cannabis analysis

Extracción de antioxidantes a partir de microalgas inéditas mediante SWE

Resumen del póster presentado a la VI Reunión de Expertos en Tecnologías de Fluidos Comprimidos celebrada en Madrid del 28 al 29 de junio de 2012.La creciente demanda de la industria alimentaria de nuevos alimentos funcionales pone de manifiesto la necesidad de obtener, de una forma segura y sostenible, ingredientes funcionales naturales, que contribuyan al estado de bienestar de los consumidores. Entre las técnicas de extracción, el empleo del agua líquida a elevadas temperaturas (Extracción con Agua Subcrítica, SWE) ha demostrado ser una alternativa para la obtención de compuestos bioactivos, proporcionando elevados rendimientos y selectividades. Dentro de las fuentes naturales, las microalgas pueden ser consideradas como fuentes inagotables de compuestos bioactivos, que se generan bajo condiciones ambientales extremas, y pueden resultar beneficiosos para la salud. Entre los compuestos que pueden encontrarse en las algas, los compuestos polifenólicos son de elevada importancia debido principalmente a su elevada capacidad antioxidante. En el presente trabajo se ha llevado a cabo la SWE de una serie de microalgas inéditas, donadas por el Banco Español de Algas (BEA), con el objetivo de obtener extractos con elevada capacidad antioxidante. Para ello se emplearon diferentes temperaturas de extracción y se midió la capacidad antioxidante y el contenido de fenoles totales de los extractos obtenidos.Los autores agradecen la financiación otorgada por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad a través del proyecto AGL2011-29857-C03-0134457. O.A agradece la subvención de movilidad de máster del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte y M.C.P y M.H. agradecen respectivamente al MICINN sus contratos “Juan de la cierva” y “Ramón y Cajal”.Peer Reviewe

Mass spectrometry for glycan biomarker discovery

The association between aberrant glycosylation of proteins and many cancers, and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases has been known for many years. Altered glycosylation can occur at the onset and during disease progression and identifying these changes at an early stage may greatly increase survival and improve quality of life. However, the identification of these biomarkers has not been easy, mainly due to the structural diversity and numerous possible glycan isomers. Fortunately, glycomics is becoming more feasible due to major improvements in mass spectrometry and separation science. The present review discusses recent methods for mass-spectrometry (MS) based glycomics for the identification of glycan biomarkers. Recent MS techniques with and without coupling to liquid chromatography, capillary electrophoresis or ion mobility spectrometry are described, and the most recent glycan biomarker studies are presented and future prospects discussed

Mass spectrometry for glycan biomarker discovery

The association between aberrant glycosylation of proteins and many cancers, and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases has been known for many years. Altered glycosylation can occur at the onset and during disease progression and identifying these changes at an early stage may greatly increase survival and improve quality of life. However, the identification of these biomarkers has not been easy, mainly due to the structural diversity and numerous possible glycan isomers. Fortunately, glycomics is becoming more feasible due to major improvements in mass spectrometry and separation science. The present review discusses recent methods for mass-spectrometry (MS) based glycomics for the identification of glycan biomarkers. Recent MS techniques with and without coupling to liquid chromatography, capillary electrophoresis or ion mobility spectrometry are described, and the most recent glycan biomarker studies are presented and future prospects discussed

In vitro nephrotoxicity and anticancer potency of newly synthesized cadmium complexes

Complexes based on heavy metals have great potential for the treatment of a wide variety of cancers but their use is often limited due to toxic side effects. Here we describe the synthesis of two new cadmium complexes using N(4)-phenyl-2-formylpyridine thiosemicarbazone (L1) and 5-aminotetrazole (L2) as organic ligands and the evaluation of their anti-cancer and nephrotoxic potential in vitro. The complexes were characterized by Single-crystal X-ray data diffraction, 1HNMR, FT-IR, LC/MS spectrometry and CHN elemental analysis. Next, cytotoxicity of these cadmium complexes was evaluated in several cancer cell lines, including MCF-7 (breast), Caco-2 (colorectal) and cisplatin-resistant A549 (lung) cancer cell lines, as well as in conditionally-immortalized renal proximal tubule epithelial cell lines for evaluating nephrotoxicity compared to cisplatin. We found that both compounds were toxic to the cancer cell lines in a cell-cycle dependent manner and induced caspase-mediated apoptosis and caspase-independent cell death. Nephrotoxicity of these compounds was compared to cisplatin, a known nephrotoxic drug, in vitro. Our results demonstrate that compound {2}, but not compound {1}, exerts increased cytotoxicity in MCF-7 and A549 cell lines, combined with reduced nephrotoxic potential compared to cisplatin. Together these data make compound {2} a likely candidate for further development in cancer treatment

In vitro nephrotoxicity and anticancer potency of newly synthesized cadmium complexes

Complexes based on heavy metals have great potential for the treatment of a wide variety of cancers but their use is often limited due to toxic side effects. Here we describe the synthesis of two new cadmium complexes using N(4)-phenyl-2-formylpyridine thiosemicarbazone (L1) and 5-aminotetrazole (L2) as organic ligands and the evaluation of their anti-cancer and nephrotoxic potential in vitro. The complexes were characterized by Single-crystal X-ray data diffraction, 1HNMR, FT-IR, LC/MS spectrometry and CHN elemental analysis. Next, cytotoxicity of these cadmium complexes was evaluated in several cancer cell lines, including MCF-7 (breast), Caco-2 (colorectal) and cisplatin-resistant A549 (lung) cancer cell lines, as well as in conditionally-immortalized renal proximal tubule epithelial cell lines for evaluating nephrotoxicity compared to cisplatin. We found that both compounds were toxic to the cancer cell lines in a cell-cycle dependent manner and induced caspase-mediated apoptosis and caspase-independent cell death. Nephrotoxicity of these compounds was compared to cisplatin, a known nephrotoxic drug, in vitro. Our results demonstrate that compound {2}, but not compound {1}, exerts increased cytotoxicity in MCF-7 and A549 cell lines, combined with reduced nephrotoxic potential compared to cisplatin. Together these data make compound {2} a likely candidate for further development in cancer treatment