Complex media

Question 1

What is an example of a complex media

Answer 1

Biological mixtures: Blood, Urine, Tissue samples, Hair, Nails, Food, Soil
contain many different things which can interfere with some types of analysis or damage the analysis equipment

Question 2

Why do we need to analyse drugs in bodily fluids

Answer 2

1. Therapeutic drug monitoring
   >Check efficacy of drug
   > Prevent ADR/E
   >Distinguish under or overdosing
2. determine how much antidote to give in the case of drug overdose
3. Monitor compliance of drug addicts
4. Forensic science look for poisons, pesticides, metals etc
5. Public health (food analysis)
6. Research

Question 3

Sample preparation

Answer 3

1. Solvent extraction techniques
   >extract into organic solvents like Chloroform, Diethyl ether. This will take out small lipophilic molecules and leave behind many of the complex media.
2. Precipitation: commonly used with plasma samples to remove plasma proteins
3. Ultrafiltration (small hole small membrane)
   > Molecular size exclusion. Used for free drug level determinations.
   >Liquid and free drug comes through and plasma proteins or drugs bounds to proteins remain behind.
4. Extraction columns
   >Normal or reverse phase chromatography