• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.363-369
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• 2014

Synthetic cannabinoids (CBs) such as the JWH series have caused social problems concerning their abuse liability. Because the JWH series produces euphoric and hallucinogenic effects, they have been distributed illegally under street names such as "Spice" and "Smoke". Many countries including Korea have started to schedule some of the JWH series compounds as controlled substances, but there are a number of JWH series chemicals that remain uncontrolled by law. In this study, three synthetic CBs with different binding affinities to the $CB_1$ receptor (JWH-073, 081, and 210) and ${\Delta}^9$-tetrahydrocannabinol (${\Delta}^9$-THC) were evaluated for their potential for psychological dependence. The conditioned place preference test (unbiased method) and self-administration test (fixed ratio of 1) using rodents were conducted. $K_i$ values of the three synthetic cannabinoids were calculated as supplementary data using a receptor binding assay and overexpressed $CB_1$ protein membranes to compare dependence potential with $CB_1$ receptor binding affinity. All mice administered JWH-073, 081, or 210 showed significantly increased time spent at unpreferred space in a dose-dependence manner in the conditioned place preference test. In contrast, all tested substances except ${\Delta}^9$-THC showed aversion phenomenon at high doses in the conditioned place preference test. The order of affinity to the $CB_1$ receptor in the receptor binding assay was JWH-210 > JWH-081 >> JWH-073, which was in agreement with the results from the conditioned place preference test. However, no change in self-administration was observed. These findings suggest the possibility to predict dependence potential of synthetic CBs through a receptor binding assay at the screening level.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.148-155
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• 2013

Sulfoxaflor is a new active ingredient within the sulfoximine insecticide class that acts via a unique interaction with the nicotinic receptor. The MRLs (maximun residue limit) of sulfoxaflor in apple and pear are set at 0.4 mg/kg and that in pepper is set at 0.5 mg/kg. The purpose of this study was to develop an analytical method for the determination of sulfoxaflor residues in agricultural commodities using HPLC-UVD and LC-MS. The analysis of sulfoxaflor was performed by reverse phase-HPLC using an UV detector. Acetone and methanol were used for the extraction and aminopropyl ($NH_2$) cartridge was used for the clean-up in the samples. Recovery experiments were conducted on 7 representative agricultural products to validate the analytical method. The recoveries of the proposed method ranged from 82.8% to 108.2% and relative standard deviations were less than 10%. Finally, LC-MS with selected ion monitoring was also applied to confirm the suspected residues of sulfoxaflor in agricultural commodities.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.55-62
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• 2023

Public institutions have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their employees and the public. One way to do this is to implement a systematic safety inspection system based on risk assessments and continuous improvements. This study developed a systematic safety inspection system for public institutions that are ordered construction projects. The proposed system in this study consists of a three-step process: (1) developing safety grade evaluation tables, (2) preparing and conducting safety inspections, and (3) evaluating and improving safety management grades. The first step is to develop safety grade evaluation tables by analysis and diagnosis of the construction site's work type, disaster statistics, and related laws. The second step is to conduct safety inspections using the developed evaluation tables. The third step is to determine the safety management grade based on the results of the safety inspection, and to improve risk factors found during the safety evaluation. The proposed system was implemented in highway construction projects carried out by public institutions. The results showed that the proposed system has two major effects: (1) reducing accident-related deaths and injuries, (2) improving safety management levels by continuous evaluation and improvement. The proposed system can be utilized in construction projects ordered by public institutions to improve the level of occupational safety and health.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.278-287
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• 2015

Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE-5 inhibitors) are used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. In recent years, a number of reports have been conducted on dietary supplements contaminated with PDE-5 analogues. In this study, 58 analogues of PDE-5 inhibitors were sorted into five groups: tadalafil, sildenafil, hongdenafil, vardenafil, and other analogues. These analogues were then evaluated using a liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) electrospray ionization mass method. Each compound has a unique fragmentation ion, which can be easily analyzed qualitatively. The fragmentation pathways of the analogues were elucidated based on the QTOF-MS and MS/MS data. Common ions were confirmed for each group by analyzing the structural characteristics and fragmentation pathways. Specifically, common ions were observed at m/z 169.08 and 135.04 (tadalafil analogues), m/z 311.15 and 283.12 (sildenafil analogues and hongdenafil analogues), and m/z 312.16 and 151.09 (vardenafil analogues). The advantage of this method is that the structure of unknown components can be determined by interpreting the product ions. Hence, the developed method can be used for the identification of unknown compounds. Fragmentation pathways may also aid in the detection and identification of PDE-5 inhibitor analogues.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.235-241
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• 2019

An analytical method was developed for the determination of an antibiotic fungicide, kasugamycin, in agricultural products (hulled rice, potato, soybean, mandarin and green pepper) using liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Samples were extracted with methanol adjusted to pH 13 using 1 N sodium hydroxide, and purified with a HLB (hydrophilic lipophilic balance) cartridge. Linearity of a matrix-matched calibration curve using seven concentration levels, from 0.001 to 0.1 mg/kg, was excellent with a correlation coefficient ($R^2$) of more than 0.9998. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) of instrument were 0.0005 and $0.001{\mu}g/mL$, respectively, and the LOQ of analytical method calculated as 0.01 mg/kg. The average recoveries at three spiking levels (LOQ, $LOQ{\times}10$, $LOQ{\times}50$, n=5) were in the range of 71.2~95.4% with relative standard deviation of less than 12.1%. The developed method was simple and all optimized results was satisfied with the criteria ranges requested in the Codex guidelines and Food Safety Evaluation Department guidelines. The present study could be served as a reference for the establishment of maximum residue limits (MRL) of kasugamycin and be used as basic data for safety management relative to kasugamycin residues in imported and domestic agricultural products.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.115-123
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• 2019

An analytical method was developed for the determination of fenpropimorph, a morpholine fungicide, in hulled rice, potato, soybean, mandarin and green pepper using QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) sample preparation and LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry). The QuEChERS extraction was performed with acetonitrile followed by addition of anhydrous magnesium sulfate and sodium chloride. After centrifugation, d-SPE (dispersive solid phase extraction) cleanup was conducted using anhydrous magnesium sulfate, primary secondary amine sorbents and graphitized carbon black. The matrix-matched calibration curves were constructed using seven concentration levels, from 0.0025 to 0.25 mg/kg, and their correlation coefficient ($R^2$) of five agricultural products were higher than 0.9899. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.001 and 0.0025 mg/kg, respectively, and the limits of quantification for the analytical method were 0.01 mg/kg. Average recoveries spiked at three levels (LOQ, $LOQ{\times}10$, $LOQ{\times}50$, n=5) and were in the range of 90.9~110.5% with associated relative standard deviation values less than 5.7%. As a result of the inter-laboratory validation, the average recoveries between the two laboratories were 88.6~101.4% and the coefficient of variation was also below 15%. All optimized results were satisfied the criteria ranges requested in the Codex guidelines and Food Safety Evaluation Department guidelines. This study could serve as a reference for safety management relative to fenpropimorph residues in imported and domestic agricultural products.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.345-351
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• 2011

A liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of finasteride in human serum. Beclomethasone was used as internal standard (IS) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) using methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was carried out to isolate analyte. The mass transitions monitored in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in positive ion mode were m/z 373.2${\rightarrow}$305.2 for finasteride and m/z 409.3${\rightarrow}$391.2 for IS. Retention times of finasteride and IS were 5.81 and 5.46 min, respectively. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 0.1 ng/mL and the calibration curve showed good linearity in the range of 0.1~20.0 ng/mL ($R^2$=0.9997). The intra-day assay precision and accuracy were in the range 6.3~10.6% and 97.3~103.6%, respectively, and the inter-day assay precision and accuracy were in the range 0.8~5.2% and 99.8~102.5%, respectively. The sample extract recovery of the method was 80~83%.

• Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.389-396
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• 2017

Objectives: To circumvent the limitations of the current golden standard method, colony-forming unit (CFU) assay, for viability of Bacille Calmette-$Gu{\acute{e}}rin$ (BCG) vaccines, we developed a new method to rapidly and accurately determine the potency of BCG vaccines. Methods: Based on flow cytometry (FACS) and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) as the most appropriate fluorescent staining reagent, 17 lots of BCG vaccines for percutaneous administration and 5 lots of BCG vaccines for intradermal administration were analyzed in this study. The percentage of viable cells measured by flow cytometry along with the total number of organisms in BCG vaccines, as determined on a cell counter, was used to quantify the number of viable cells. Results: Pearson correlation coefficients of FACS and CFU assays for percutaneous and intradermal BCG vaccines were 0.6962 and 0.7428, respectively, indicating a high correlation. The coefficient of variation value of the FACS assay was less than 7%, which was 11 times lower than that of the CFU assay. Conclusion: This study contributes to the evaluation of new potency test method for FACS-based determination of viable cells in BCG vaccines. Accordingly, quality control of BCG vaccines can be significantly improved.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.140-147
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• 2019

An analytical method was developed for the determination of quinoxyfen in agricultural products using the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) method by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The samples were extracted with 1% acetic acid in acetonitrile and water was removed by liquid-liquid partitioning with $MgSO_4$ (anhydrous magnesium sulfate) and sodium acetate. Dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) cleanup was carried out using $MgSO_4$, PSA (primary secondary amine), $C_{18}$ (octadecyl) and GCB (graphitized carbon black). The analytes were quantified and confirmed by using LC-MS/MS in positive mode with MRM (multiple reaction monitoring). The matrix-matched calibration curves were constructed using six levels ($0.001-0.25{\mu}g/mL$) and the coefficient of determination ($R^2$) was above 0.99. Recovery results at three concentrations (LOQ, 10 LOQ, and 50 LOQ, n=5) were in the range of 73.5-86.7% with RSDs (relative standard deviations) of less than 8.9%. For inter-laboratory validation, the average recovery was 77.2-95.4% and the CV (coefficient of variation) was below 14.5%. All results were consistent with the criteria ranges requested in the Codex guidelines (CAC/GL 40-1993, 2003) and Food Safety Evaluation Department guidelines (2016). The proposed analytical method was accurate, effective and sensitive for quinoxyfen determination in agricultural commodities. This study could be useful for the safe management of quinoxyfen residues in agricultural products.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.111-119
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• 2015

BACKGROUND: Ethychlozate (ECZ) is a plant growth regulator of synthetic auxin for agricultural commodities (ACs). Accurate and sensitive method to determine ECZ in diverse ACs on global official purpose is required to legal residue regulation. As the current official method is confined to the limited type of crops with poor validation, this study was conducted to improve and extend the ECZ method using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in all the registered crops with method verification. METHODS AND RESULTS: ECZ and its acidic metabolite (ECZA) were both extracted from acidified samples with acetone and briefly purified by dichloromethane partition. ECZ was hydrolyzed to form ECZA and the combined ECZA was finally purified by ion-associated partition including hexane-washing. The instrumental quantitation was performed using HPLC/ FLD under ion-suppression of ECZA with no interference by sample co-extractives. The average recoveries of intra- and inter-day experiment ranged from 82.0 to 105.2% and 81.7 to 102.8%, respectively. The repeatability and reproducibility for intra- and inter-day measurements expressed as a relative standard deviation was less than 8.7% and 7.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Established analytical method for ECZ residue in ACs was applicable to the nation-wide pesticide residues monitoring program with the acceptable level of sensitivity, repeatability and reproducibility.