• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.111-115
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• 2016

Glycerol was identified and isolated from endogenous interferences during analysis of human urine using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) for doping control. Urinary sample preparation was simple; the samples were diluted with an organic solvent and then analyzed using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry ("dilute and shoot" method). Although the interfering ion peaks were observed at the similar retention time of glycerol, the inference could be identified by isolation with HRMS and further investigation. Thus, creatinine was identified as the endogenous interference for glycerol analysis and it also caused ion suppression resulting in the decrease of glycerol signal. This study reports the first identification and efficient isolation of endogenous interferences in human urine for "dilute and shoot" method. The information about ion suppression could be novel to prevent overestimation or a false result for antidoping analysis.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.95-99
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• 2018

An innovative, simple, and rapid assay method based on liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of eight statin drugs in human urine. A simple sample clean-up procedure using the "dilute and shoot" (DAS) approach enabled a fast and reliable analysis. The influence of the dilution factor was investigated to ensure detectability and reduce the matrix effect. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Phenomenex Kinetex C18 column ($50{\times}3.0mm$ i.d., $2.6{\mu}m$) using an elution gradient of mobile phase A composed of 0.1% acetic acid, and mobile phase B composed of acetonitrile, at a flow rate of 0.35 mL/min. Quantitation was performed on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operated in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode using electrospray ionization in positive ion mode. The total chromatographic run time was 15 min. The method was validated for selectivity, sensitivity, recovery, linearity, accuracy, precision, and stability. The present method was successfully applied to the analysis of Rosuvastatin in urine samples after oral administration to healthy human subjects.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.39-43
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• 2017

Meldonium is a drug for treating ischemia by expanding the arteries but it can also enhance the performance of sports players. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has included it in the list of prohibited substances since 2016. Meldonium is one of the challenging substances for anti-doping testing because it is difficult to recover by general liquid-liquid or solid phase extraction due to its permanent charge and high polarity. Therefore, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is currently used by injecting a diluted urine sample (known as the "dilute-and-shoot" strategy). There is no loss of target compounds in the extraction/cleanup procedure but its high matrix effect could interfere in their separation or detection from the endogenous urinary compounds. We report a single method using high-resolution mass spectrometry that can be used for both screening and confirmation, which follows the "dilute-and-shoot" strategy. In this method, the endogenous compounds' interfering peaks in the mass spectrum are separated at a high resolution of FWHM 140,000, and the results are suitable for substance detection following the WADA guidelines. The interferences in the obtained mass spectrum of the urine matrix are identified as acetylcholine, lysine, and glutamine by further analysis and database searching. Validation of the method is performed in routine anti-doping testing, and the limit of detection is 50 ng/mL. This method uses simple sample preparation and a general reverse phase HPLC column, and it can be easily applied to other substances.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2021

A simple, specific, and economical LC-MS/MS method was investigated for the screening of 43 prescribed antihypertensive and related drugs in human urine. The urine samples were simply prepared by diluting and mixing with internal standard before directly introduced to the LC-MS/MS system, which is fast, straightforward, and cost-effective. Fractional factorial, Box-Behnken, and I-optimal design were applied to screen and optimize the mass spectrometric and chromatographic factors. The analysis was carried out on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer system utilizing multiple reaction monitoring with positive and negative electrospray ionization method. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Thermo Scientific Accucore RP-MS column (50 × 3.0 mm ID., 2.6 ㎛) using two separate gradient elution programs established with the same mobile phases. Chromatographic separation was performed within 12 min. The optimal method was validated based on FDA guideline. The results indicated that the assay was specific, reproducible, and sensitive with the limit of detection from 0.1 to 50.0 ㎍/L. The method was linear for all analytes with coefficient of determination ranging from 0.9870 to 0.9981. The intra-assay precision was from 1.44 to 19.87% and the inter-assay precision was between 2.69 and 18.54% with the recovery rate ranges from 84.54 to 119.78% for all drugs measured. All analytes in urine samples were stable for 24 h at 25℃, and for 2 weeks at -60℃. The developed method improves on currently existing methods by including larger number of cardiovascular medications and better sensitivity of 12 analytes.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.112-117
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• 2016

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of caffeine in forensic aqueous sample. The centrifuged sample ($100{\mu}l$) was diluted 50-fold with distilled water. The diluted sample ($400{\mu}l$) was then diluted further with $200{\mu}l$ of 0.1% formic acid solution and $400{\mu}l$ of acetonitrile containing 500 ng of caffeine-(3-methyl-$^{13}C_3$) prior to LC-MS/MS analysis. The mobile phase was composed of 0.1% formic acid in distilled water (A) and acetonitrile (B). Chromatographic separation was performed by using a Zorbax SB-C18 ($100mm{\times}2.1mm$ i.d., $3.5{\mu}m$) column and caffeine was eluted within 1.1 min. Linear least-squares regression with a 1/x weighting factor was used to generate a calibration curve with the coefficients of determination ($r^2=0.9983$). The lower limit of quantification was $25ng/ml$ for the analyte. The process efficiency was 98.6~100.1%. Intra- and inter-day precisions were not more than 2.1% and 1.7%, while intra- and inter-day accuracies were ranged from -6.8 to 4.5%, respectively. The suitability of the method was examined by analyzing unknown forensic aqueous samples.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.223-231
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• 2019

Castanopsis indica (Sil Batna) is an ecologically valuable multipurpose indigenous tree species of Bangladesh. Considering its high value but poor natural regeneration due to seed dormancy, the authors conducted an experiment at the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences Chittagong University (IFESCU) during 2012-2013 to find out effective pre-sowing treatments. Ten pre-sowing seed treatments were applied on mature, even-sized seeds namely-control; sandpaper rubbing; nail clipping; immersion in normal water (at room temperature: 24℃) for 24 hrs., 48 hrs. and 72 hrs.; immersion in hot water (80℃) for 1 minute; soaking in 10% dilute H₂SO₄; soaking in 10% HCl for 5 minutes; and sowing in propagator house. Seeds sown after sandpaper rubbing at the distal end revealed best performances by providing highest germination percent (66.7%), germination energy (30%), germination index (0.17), germination rate (0.0145), germination value (30%) and plant percent (66.7%) within shortest period (38 days). The treatment also produced most vigor seedlings with 20.9 cm shoot height, 15 node number, and largest leaves (11.1 cm×2.9 cm). Hence, it is recommended to adopt sandpaper rubbing method for maximum germination and quality seedlings.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.161-170
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• 2018

The epidemic of disorders associated with synthetic stimulants, such as methamphetamine (MA) and amphetamine (AP), is a health, social, legal, and financial problem. Owing to the high potential of their abuse and addiction, reliable analytical methods are required to detect and identify MA, AP, and their metabolites in biological samples. Thus, a dilute-and-shoot liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrophotometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed for simultaneous determination of MA, 4-hydroxymethamphetamine (4HMA), AP, and 4-hydroxyamphetamine (4HA) in urine. Urine sample ($100{\mu}L$) was mixed with $50{\mu}L$ of mobile phase consisting of 0.4 % formic acid and methanol and $50{\mu}L$ of working internal-standard solution. Aliquots of $8{\mu}L$ diluted urine was injected into the LC-MS/MS system. For all analytes, chromatographic separation was performed using a C18 reversed-phase column with gradient elution and a total run time of 5 min. The identification and quantification were performed by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Linear least-squares regression was conducted to generate a calibration curve, with $1/x^2$ as the weighting factor. The linear ranges were 2.0-200, 1.0-800, and 10-2500 ng/mL for 4HA and 4HMA, AP, and MA, respectively. The inter- and intraday precisions were within 6.6 %, whereas the inter- and intraday accuracies ranged from -14.9 to 11.3 %. The low limits of quantification were 2.0 ng/mL (4HA and 4HMA), 1.0 ng/mL (AP), and 10 ng/mL (MA). The proposed method exhibited satisfactory selectivity, dilution integrity, matrix effect, and stability, which are required for validation. Moreover, the purification efficiency of high-speed centrifugation was clearly higher than 6-15 % for QC samples (n=5), which was higher than that of the membrane-filtration method. The applicability of the proposed method was tested by forensic analysis of urine samples from drug abusers.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.12-21
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• 1962

Outdoor cuttings studies on two coniferous species, pitch pine and needle fir, have been made at Suwon, Korea extending from March to early May, 1956. The purpose of these studies was to find the effects of ages of parent trees, topophysis, dilute hormone solution treatments and the time at which the cuttings were collected on the rooting response of the cuttings. On September 2, rooting results were examined. Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) The total of 1335 cuttings were collected from 3- and 10-year old trees. The cuttings treated were planted on March 13 and April 20. 1. In the cuttings collected from 3-year-old seedlings, the best result (34 percent rooted) was obtained by treating ends of cuttings with a mixture of 50 ppm IBA and 50 ppm NAA. 2. No rooting was observed in lammas shoots. 3. The cuttings from 3-year-old seedlings gave better rooting than those from 10-year-old trees. 4. The root origins were developed from the lower part of the cutting and the cut surface. Needle fir (Abies holophylla) One hundred twenty-five cuttings were collected from a 30-year-old tree. The cuttings treated with any one of four mixed hormone solutions were planted on March 23. 1. Fifteen cuttings out of 75 cuttings from the lower half of the crown were rooted. The cuttings obtained from the upper half of the crown did not root at all. 2. The cuttings treated by the hormone solution made up of 20 ppm IAA, 20 ppm IBA, 20 ppm NAA, 20 ppm thiamine and 5 percent sucrose gave the best rooting (22 percent). 3. All roots originated from callus tissues and irregularly arranged parenchymatous tissues near the cut base.