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A procedure based on micellar liquid chromatography has been developed to monitor five tyrosine kinase inhibitors in plasma, prescribed against several kinds of cancer: erlotinib, imatinib, sunitinib, sorafenib and lapatinib. The sample was diluted in a micellar solution and directly injected, thus clean-up steps were not required. The analytes were resolved without interferences in <20 min using a C18 column and a mobile phase of 0.13 M SDS-4% 1-butanol, buffered at pH 3.5, running under isocratic mode at 1 mL/min. The detection was performed by UV-visible absorbance, using a wavelength program to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio. The method was validated following the guideline of the European Medicines Agency in terms of: selectivity, calibration range (0.05-5 μg/mol), linearity (r(2)>0.990), limit of detection (15-35 ng/mL), carry-over effect, accuracy (-10.4 to +11.0%), precision (<9.2%), matrix effect, robustness (<8.4%) and stability. The procedure is rapid, easy-to-handle, uses a low amount of toxic chemical provide reliable results. Finally, the method was successfully used to analyze the studied tyrosine kinase inhibitors in plasma from cancer patients., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Extraction procedures for protein analysis from plankton samples were studied. OFFGEL electrophoresis combined with Lab-on-a-chip technology has been applied for protein analysis in plankton samples. BCR-414 (plankton) certified reference material from the European Commission was used to evaluate the protein extraction procedures. Three protein extraction procedures were studied: (1) by using Tris-HCl buffer containing a protease inhibitor cocktail, (2) urea/triton X-100 buffer extraction, and (3) using the phenol/sodium dodecyl sulphate method after different washing steps with 10% trichloroacetic acid/acetone solution and methanol. The pellet of proteins obtained was dried and then dissolved in the OFFGEL buffer. Proteins were separated according to their isoelectric points by OFFGEL electrophoresis. This separation was performed using 24 cm, pH 3-10 IPG Dry Strips. The proteins present in each liquid fraction (24 fractions) were separated according to their molecular weight using a microfluidic Lab-on-a-chip electrophoresis with the Protein 80 LabChip kit. This kit allows for the separation of proteins with a molecular weight ranging from 5 to 80 kDa. Taking into account the intensity and the number of the protein bands obtained, the protein extraction procedure using the phenol/sodium dodecyl sulphate after different wash steps with 10% trichloroacetic acid/acetone solution was selected. The developed method was applied for protein determination in a fresh marine plankton sample. The proteins found in this sample have a molecular weight ranging from 6.4 to 57.3 kDa, and the proteins with highest molecular weight were in the OFFGEL fractions with an isoelectric point ranging from 4.40 to 8.60. The concentration of proteins were calculated using external calibration with Bovine Serum Albumin, and the protein concentrations varied from 50.0 to 925.9 ng µL(-1)., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Melamine is a toxic triazine, illegally used as an additive in milk to apparently increase the amount of protein. A chromatographic procedure using a C18 column and a micellar mobile phase of sodium dodecyl sulphate (0.05M) and propanol (7.5%), buffered at pH 3, and a detection set by absorbance at 210nm, was reported for the resolution and quantification of melamine in liquid and powdered milk samples. In this work, samples were diluted with a SDS solution and were directly injected, thus avoiding long extraction and experimental procedures. Melamine was eluted in nearly 9.3min without overlapping the protein band or other endogeneous compounds. The optimal mobile phase composition was taken using a chemometrical approach that considers the retention factor, efficiency and peak shape. Validation was performed following the European Commission's indications (European Decision 2002/657/EC), and the main analytical parameters studied were: linearity (0.02-100ppm; r(2)=0.999), limit of detection (5ppb), intra- and inter-day precision (R.S.D. <7.6% and <9.7%, respectively) and robustness (R.S.D. <7.4% for retention time and <5.0% for area). Sensitivity was adequate to detect melamine under the safety limits proposed by the US FDA. Finally, recoveries for several milk samples were found in the 85-109% range.