W8: Toxicology Flashcards
toxicology
qualitative & quantitative study of adverse reaction of toxins & Toxicants on living organisms.
toxin
poison of natural origin
toxicant
hazardous substance of chemical origin
4 classifications of toxicology
occupational, env, forensic, clinical
pharmacokinetics
absorption, distribution, biotransformation & excretion of drugs & chemicals.
pharmacodynamics
biochemical & physiological effects of chemicals to the body & mechanisms of their actions.
sample types
urine
blood
hair
saliva
sample adulteration
Biological
Dilute sample by drinking large amounts H2O prior to test
Chemical
Acid, bleach, oxidants
Addition of drugs
eg spiking with methadone to demonstrate compliance
Urine substitution
Synthetic urine
Someone else’s
Pet’s
Other liquid
sample integrity checks
Supervised sample collection
Measure urine creatinine/electrolytes
Creatinine <2.0 mmol/L ‘dilute’
pH
Normal urine pH ~4.5-9.0
Specific gravity
Appearance
Temperature on collection
Green - ?methadone spike
Odour - ?bleach
Measure metabolites
why does toxicology matter?
Occupational: workplaces SAFE
Env: environmental contaminants are SAFELY disposed of
Forensic : responsible culprits identified correctly & made accountable for their actions.
Clinical : SAFETY & well being of every person
analytical techniques
Thin Layer Chromatography
Immunoassay
Gas Chromatography
Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Detection of unknown drugs by mass spectrometry
POCT
thin layer chromatography
Can detect parent drugs and their metabolites in most cases
Specialist manual assay requires considerable experience for interpretation of results
TLC precision/accuracy
Qualitative assay
Semi-quantitative assays possible with use of standards and densitometry
TLC sensitivity
relatively poor
TLC specificity
Poor; overlapping spots e.g methadone/EDDP
User variability in interpretation
TLC sample types
Primarily urine
Little/no sample preparation required
TLC speed
Long assays – at least 3-4 hr/plate, up to 20 samples/plate
Difficult to automate
TLC cost
TLC plates & solvents relatively cheap
Standards more expensive
TLC instrumentation
Requires fume cupboard for toxic solvents / developing
TLC staffing/ease of use
Experienced staff required for interpretation
Health and safety aspects of solvents and staining
TLC POCT
not suitable
immunoassays: precision/accuracy
Good precision on most automated analysers
Lack of specificity impacts on accuracy due to cross reactivity to structurally related drugs
immunoassays: sensitivity
depends on Ab
immunoassays: specificity
Limited – drug group specific rather than single drug specific, can also get cross reactivity between drug groups
immunoassays: sample types
Primarily urine
No sample preparation required.
Low sample volume
immunoassays: speed
Quick <1 hr
Amenable to large batches
immunoassays: cost
Immunoassay kits relatively expensive due to cost of Abs
immunoassays: instrumentation
Existing automated immunoassay analysers