37 results on '"Fuoco R."'
Search Results
2. Determination of warfarin and warfarin alcohols in dried blood spots by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS)
- Author
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Ghimenti, S., Lomonaco, T., Biagini, D., Bellagambi, F.G., Onor, M., Trivella, M.G., Ruocco, L., Pellegrini, G., Di Francesco, F., and Fuoco, R.
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
3. Determination of salivary α-amylase and cortisol in psoriatic subjects undergoing the Trier Social Stress Test
- Author
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Bellagambi, F.G., Degano, I., Ghimenti, S., Lomonaco, T., Dini, V., Romanelli, M., Mastorci, F., Gemignani, A., Salvo, P., Fuoco, R., and Di Francesco, F.
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
4. The effect of sampling procedures on the urate and lactate concentration in oral fluid
- Author
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Lomonaco, T., Ghimenti, S., Biagini, D., Bramanti, E., Onor, M., Bellagambi, F.G., Fuoco, R., and Di Francesco, F.
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
5. Monitoring of warfarin therapy: Preliminary results from a longitudinal pilot study
- Author
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Lomonaco, T., Ghimenti, S., Piga, I., Biagini, D., Onor, M., Fuoco, R., Paolicchi, A., Ruocco, L., Pellegrini, G., Trivella, M.G., and Di Francesco, F.
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
6. Temperature and pH sensors based on graphenic materials
- Author
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Salvo, P., Calisi, N., Melai, B., Cortigiani, B., Mannini, M., Caneschi, A., Lorenzetti, G., Paoletti, C., Lomonaco, T., Paolicchi, A., Scataglini, I., Dini, V., Romanelli, M., Fuoco, R., and Di Francesco, F.
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
7. Monitoring of warfarin therapy: Preliminary results from a longitudinal pilot study
- Author
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Lomonaco, T, Ghimenti, S, Piga, I, Biagini, D, Onor, M, Fuoco, R, Paolicchi, A, Ruocco, L, Pellegrini, G, Trivella, M, Di Francesco, F, Lomonaco, T., Ghimenti, S., Piga, I., Biagini, D., Onor, M., Fuoco, R., Paolicchi, A., Ruocco, L., Pellegrini, G., Trivella, M. G., Di Francesco, F., Lomonaco, T, Ghimenti, S, Piga, I, Biagini, D, Onor, M, Fuoco, R, Paolicchi, A, Ruocco, L, Pellegrini, G, Trivella, M, Di Francesco, F, Lomonaco, T., Ghimenti, S., Piga, I., Biagini, D., Onor, M., Fuoco, R., Paolicchi, A., Ruocco, L., Pellegrini, G., Trivella, M. G., and Di Francesco, F.
- Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between warfarin dosage, international normalized ratio, plasma and oral fluid concentrations of warfarin, and its metabolites, namely RR/SS- and RS/SR-warfarin alcohols. Nine patients on long-term warfarin therapy (4 with stable and 5 with unstable international normalized ratio values) were longitudinally monitored for over two months by recording warfarin dosage and measuring international normalized ratio, warfarin and warfarin alcohols concentrations in oral fluid and in plasma. At equivalent dose (20–30 mg week− 1), the international normalized ratio was in the range 2.0–2.5 and 1.5–3.1 for stable and unstable patients, respectively. Moreover, stable patients showed nearly double total and unbound plasma warfarin concentration, and nearly triple oral fluid warfarin concentrations compared to unstable patients. Correlations between warfarin dosage and total plasma concentration of warfarin (r = 0.65, p < 0.01) or RS/SR-warfarin alcohols (r = 0.66, p < 0.01), as well as between stimulated oral fluid and total plasma concentrations of warfarin (r = 0.72, p < 0.01) and RS/SR-warfarin alcohols (r = 0.95, p < 0.01) suggest that the relative changes of the oral fluid concentrations of these species may provide clinically useful information for monitoring individual patients. Follow-up data revealed that even in the absence of changes of warfarin dose, the oscillations of plasma and oral fluid of WAR and RS/SR-warfarin alcohols parallel oscillations of international normalized ratio. Due to the long delay of its biological action, monitoring the plasma concentration of warfarin might help to predict variations of international normalized ratio and prevent the risk of thrombotic or haemorrhagic events. The information collected suggests that non-invasive monitoring of warfarin in oral fluid might represent a suitable tool for this purpose
- Published
- 2018
8. A sampler prototype for the simultaneous collection of exhaled air and breath condensate
- Author
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Lomonaco, T., primary, Salvo, P., additional, Ghimenti, S., additional, Biagini, D., additional, Antoni, S., additional, Bellagambi, F. G., additional, Di Francesco, F., additional, and Fuoco, R., additional
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
9. Determination of carbonyl compounds in exhaled breath by on-sorbent derivatization coupled with thermal desorption and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry
- Author
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Lomonaco, T, primary, Romani, A, additional, Ghimenti, S, additional, Biagini, D, additional, Bellagambi, F G, additional, Onor, M, additional, Salvo, P, additional, Fuoco, R, additional, and Di Francesco, F, additional
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
10. Determination of volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath of heart failure patients by needle trap micro-extraction coupled with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry
- Author
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Biagini, D, primary, Lomonaco, T, additional, Ghimenti, S, additional, Bellagambi, F G, additional, Onor, M, additional, Scali, M C, additional, Barletta, V, additional, Marzilli, M, additional, Salvo, P, additional, Trivella, M G, additional, Fuoco, R, additional, and Di Francesco, F, additional
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
11. A graphene oxide pH sensor for wound monitoring
- Author
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Melai, B., primary, Salvo, P., additional, Calisi, N., additional, Moni, L., additional, Bonini, A., additional, Paoletti, C., additional, Lomonaco, T., additional, Mollica, V., additional, Fuoco, R., additional, and Di Francesco, F., additional
- Published
- 2016
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
12. Comparison of sampling bags for the analysis of volatile organic compounds in breath
- Author
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Ghimenti, S, primary, Lomonaco, T, additional, Bellagambi, F G, additional, Tabucchi, S, additional, Onor, M, additional, Trivella, M G, additional, Ceccarini, A, additional, Fuoco, R, additional, and Di Francesco, F, additional
- Published
- 2015
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
13. Determination of carbonyl compounds in exhaled breath by onsorbent derivatization coupled with thermal desorption and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
- Author
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Lomonaco, T., Romani, A., Ghimenti, S., Biagini, D., Bellagambi, F. G., Onor, M., Salvo, P., Fuoco, R., and Di Francesco, F.
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
14. A breath sampling system assessing the influence of respiratory rate on exhaled breath composition
- Author
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Lomonaco, T., primary, Salvo, P., additional, Ghimenti, S., additional, Biagini, D., additional, Bellagambi, F., additional, Fuoco, R., additional, and Di Francesco, F., additional
- Published
- 2015
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
15. Monitoring of warfarin therapy: Preliminary results from a longitudinal pilot study
- Author
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Isabella Piga, Silvia Ghimenti, Tommaso Lomonaco, Denise Biagini, G. Pellegrini, Roger Fuoco, Maria Giovanna Trivella, L.A. Ruocco, Aldo Paolicchi, Massimo Onor, F. Di Francesco, Lomonaco, T, Ghimenti, S, Piga, I, Biagini, D, Onor, M, Fuoco, R, Paolicchi, A, Ruocco, L, Pellegrini, G, Trivella, M, and Di Francesco, F
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Warfarin therapy ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,Pharmacology ,01 natural sciences ,Gastroenterology ,Analytical Chemistry ,03 medical and health sciences ,warfarin alcohols ,Plasma ,0302 clinical medicine ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,heterocyclic compounds ,cardiovascular diseases ,International normalized ratio ,Oral fluid ,Spectroscopy ,Total plasma ,Chemistry ,010401 analytical chemistry ,Warfarin ,Warfarin, warfarin alcohols, international normalized ratio, oral fluid, plasma ,Warfarin alcohol ,0104 chemical sciences ,medicine.drug - Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between warfarin dosage, international normalized ratio, plasma and oral fluid concentrations of warfarin, and its metabolites, namely RR/SS- and RS/SR-warfarin alcohols. Nine patients on long-term warfarin therapy (4 with stable and 5 with unstable international normalized ratio values) were longitudinally monitored for over two months by recording warfarin dosage and measuring international normalized ratio, warfarin and warfarin alcohols concentrations in oral fluid and in plasma. At equivalent dose (20–30 mg week− 1), the international normalized ratio was in the range 2.0–2.5 and 1.5–3.1 for stable and unstable patients, respectively. Moreover, stable patients showed nearly double total and unbound plasma warfarin concentration, and nearly triple oral fluid warfarin concentrations compared to unstable patients. Correlations between warfarin dosage and total plasma concentration of warfarin (r = 0.65, p < 0.01) or RS/SR-warfarin alcohols (r = 0.66, p < 0.01), as well as between stimulated oral fluid and total plasma concentrations of warfarin (r = 0.72, p < 0.01) and RS/SR-warfarin alcohols (r = 0.95, p < 0.01) suggest that the relative changes of the oral fluid concentrations of these species may provide clinically useful information for monitoring individual patients. Follow-up data revealed that even in the absence of changes of warfarin dose, the oscillations of plasma and oral fluid of WAR and RS/SR-warfarin alcohols parallel oscillations of international normalized ratio. Due to the long delay of its biological action, monitoring the plasma concentration of warfarin might help to predict variations of international normalized ratio and prevent the risk of thrombotic or haemorrhagic events. The information collected suggests that non-invasive monitoring of warfarin in oral fluid might represent a suitable tool for this purpose
- Published
- 2018
16. Influence of Sampling on the Determination of Warfarin and Warfarin Alcohols in Oral Fluid
- Author
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Denise Biagini, Isabella Piga, Fabio Di Francesco, Tommaso Lomonaco, Roger Fuoco, Massimo Onor, Silvia Ghimenti, Lomonaco, T, Ghimenti, S, Piga, I, Biagini, D, Onor, M, Fuoco, R, and Di Francesco, F
- Subjects
Genetics and Molecular Biology (all) ,Male ,Saliva ,Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography ,lcsh:Medicine ,Pharmacology ,Biochemistry ,High-performance liquid chromatography ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Blood plasma ,80 and over ,Medicine and Health Sciences ,Adult ,Aged ,Aged, 80 and over ,Female ,Humans ,International Normalized Ratio ,Middle Aged ,Warfarin ,Agricultural and Biological Sciences (all) ,Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (all) ,Medicine (all) ,lcsh:Science ,Liquid Chromatography ,Extraction Techniques ,Multidisciplinary ,Pharmaceutics ,Therapeutic Drug Monitoring ,Chromatographic Techniques ,Repeatability ,Hexane ,Research Article ,medicine.drug ,Analyte ,Liquid-Liquid Extraction ,Research and Analysis Methods ,medicine ,Dichloromethane ,Chromatography ,business.industry ,lcsh:R ,High Performance Liquid Chromatography ,chemistry ,Specimen Preparation and Treatment ,lcsh:Q ,business - Abstract
Background and Objective The determination of warfarin, RS/SR- and RR/SS-warfarin alcohols in oral fluid may offer additional information to the INR assay. This study aimed to establish an optimized sampling technique providing the best correlation between the oral fluid and the unbound plasma concentrations of these compounds. Materials and Methods Samples of non-stimulated and stimulated oral fluid, and blood were collected from 14 patients undergoing warfarin therapy. After acidification, analytes were extracted with a dichloromethane/hexane mixture and determined by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Plasma samples were also ultrafiltered for the determination of the unbound fraction. The chromatographic separation was carried out in isocratic conditions with a phosphate buffer/methanol mobile phase on a C-18 reversed-phase column. The absence of interfering compounds was verified by HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF. Results Stimulation generally increased the oral fluid pH to values close to blood pH in about 6 minutes. The concentration of warfarin and RS/SR-warfarin alcohols in oral fluid followed the same trend, whereas the concentration of RR/SS-warfarin alcohols was not affected. Six minute stimulation with chewing gum followed by collection with a polyester swab was the best sampling procedure, with a good repeatability (RSD
- Published
- 2014
17. Official health communications are failing PFAS-contaminated communities.
- Author
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Ducatman A, LaPier J, Fuoco R, and DeWitt JC
- Subjects
- Body Burden, Environmental Health, Humans, Fluorocarbons analysis, Health Communication, Water Pollutants, Chemical analysis
- Abstract
Background: Environmental health agencies are critical sources of information for communities affected by chemical contamination. Impacted residents and their healthcare providers often turn to federal and state agency webpages, fact sheets, and other documents to weigh exposure risks and interventions., Main Body: This commentary briefly reviews scientific evidence concerning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for health outcomes that concern members of affected communities and that have compelling or substantial yet differing degree of scientific evidence. It then features official documents in their own language to illustrate communication gaps, as well as divergence from scientific evidence and from best health communication practice. We found official health communications mostly do not distinguish between the needs of heavily contaminated communities characterized by high body burdens and the larger population with ubiquitous but substantially smaller exposures. Most health communications do not distinguish levels of evidence for health outcomes and overemphasize uncertainty, dismissing legitimate reasons for concern in affected communities. Critically, few emphasize helpful approaches to interventions. We also provide examples that can be templates for improvement., Conclusions: Immediate action should be undertaken to review and improve official health communications intended to inform the public and health providers about the risks of PFAS exposure and guide community and medical decisions., (© 2022. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
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18. How to get media coverage and boost your science's impact.
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Fuoco R
- Published
- 2021
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19. Determination and stability of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in saliva samples for monitoring heart failure.
- Author
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Bellagambi FG, Petersen C, Salvo P, Ghimenti S, Franzini M, Biagini D, Hangouët M, Trivella MG, Di Francesco F, Paolicchi A, Errachid A, Fuoco R, and Lomonaco T
- Subjects
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Biomarkers analysis, Diagnostic Tests, Routine, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay methods, Female, Healthy Volunteers, Heart Failure metabolism, Heart Failure physiopathology, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Natriuretic Peptide, Brain metabolism, Peptide Fragments metabolism, Protein Stability, Saliva chemistry, Specimen Handling methods, Heart Failure diagnosis, Natriuretic Peptide, Brain analysis, Natriuretic Peptide, Brain immunology, Peptide Fragments analysis, Peptide Fragments immunology
- Abstract
Heart failure (HF) is the main cause of mortality worldwide, particularly in the elderly. N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is the gold standard biomarker for HF diagnosis and therapy monitoring. It is determined in blood samples by the immunochemical methods generally adopted by most laboratories. Saliva analysis is a powerful tool for clinical applications, mainly due to its non-invasive and less risky sampling. This study describes a validated analytical procedure for NT-proBNP determination in saliva samples using a commercial Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay. Linearity, matrix effect, sensitivity, recovery and assay-precision were evaluated. The analytical approach showed a linear behaviour of the signal throughout the concentrations tested, with a minimum detectable dose of 1 pg/mL, a satisfactory NT-proBNP recovery (95-110%), and acceptable precision (coefficient of variation ≤ 10%). Short-term (3 weeks) and long-term (5 months) stability of NT-proBNP in saliva samples under the storage conditions most frequently used in clinical laboratories (4, - 20, and - 80 °C) was also investigated and showed that the optimal storage conditions were at - 20 °C for up to 2.5 months. Finally, the method was tested for the determination of NT-proBNP in saliva samples collected from ten hospitalized acute HF patients. Preliminary results indicate a decrease in NT-proBNP in saliva from admission to discharge, thus suggesting that this procedure is an effective saliva-based point-of-care device for HF monitoring.
- Published
- 2021
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20. Salivary Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Therapy Monitoring in Patients with Heart Failure. A Systematic Review.
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Rammos A, Bechlioulis A, Kalogeras P, Tripoliti EE, Goletsis Y, Kalivi A, Blathra E, Salvo P, Trivella MG, Lomonaco T, Fuoco R, Bellagambi F, Watson CJ, Errachid A, Fotiadis DI, Michalis LK, and Naka KK
- Abstract
The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review on the potential value of saliva biomarkers in the diagnosis, management and prognosis of heart failure (HF). The correlation between saliva and plasma values of these biomarkers was also studied. PubMed was searched to collect relevant literature, i.e., case-control, cross-sectional studies that either compared the values of salivary biomarkers among healthy subjects and HF patients, or investigated their role in risk stratification and prognosis in HF patients. No randomized control trials were included. The search ended on 31st of December 2020. A total of 15 studies met the inclusion criteria. 18 salivary biomarkers were analyzed and the levels of all biomarkers studied were found to be higher in HF patients compared to controls, except for amylase, sodium, and chloride that had smaller saliva concentrations in HF patients. Natriuretic peptides are the most commonly used plasma biomarkers in the management of HF. Their saliva levels show promising results, although the correlation of saliva to plasma values is weakened in higher plasma values. In most of the publications, differences in biomarker levels between HF patients and controls were found to be statistically significant. Due to the small number of patients included, larger studies need to be conducted in order to facilitate the use of saliva biomarkers in clinical practice.
- Published
- 2021
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21. Plastic breeze: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by degrading macro- and microplastics analyzed by selected ion flow-tube mass spectrometry.
- Author
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La Nasa J, Lomonaco T, Manco E, Ceccarini A, Fuoco R, Corti A, Modugno F, Castelvetro V, and Degano I
- Subjects
- Ecosystem, Environmental Monitoring, Mass Spectrometry, Microplastics, Plastics, Volatile Organic Compounds
- Abstract
Pollution from microplastics (MPs) has become one of the most relevant topics in environmental chemistry. The risks related to MPs include their capability to adsorb toxic and harmful molecular species, and to release additives and degradation products into ecosystems. Their role as a primary source of a broad range of harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has also been recently reported. In this work, we applied a non-destructive approach based on selected-ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) for the characterization of VOCs released from a set of plastic debris collected from a sandy beach in northern Tuscany. The interpretation of the individual SIFT-MS spectra, aided by principal component data analysis, allowed us to relate the aged polymeric materials that make up the plastic debris (polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate) to their VOC emission profile, degradation level, and sampling site. The study proves the potential of SIFT-MS application in the field, as a major advance to obtain fast and reliable information on the VOCs emitted from microplastics. The possibility to obtain qualitative and quantitative data on plastic debris in less than 2 min also makes SIFT-MS a useful and innovative tool for future monitoring campaigns involving statistically significant sets of environmental samples., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
22. Stability of volatile organic compounds in sorbent tubes following SARS-CoV-2 inactivation procedures.
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Lomonaco T, Salvo P, Ghimenti S, Biagini D, Vivaldi F, Bonini A, Fuoco R, and Di Francesco F
- Subjects
- Breath Tests methods, Humans, Pandemics, Specimen Handling methods, Temperature, Volatile Organic Compounds analysis, Breath Tests instrumentation, COVID-19 virology, SARS-CoV-2 physiology, Virus Inactivation, Volatile Organic Compounds chemistry
- Abstract
COVID-19 is a highly transmissible respiratory illness that has rapidly spread all over the world causing more than 115 million cases and 2.5 million deaths. Most epidemiological projections estimate that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus causing the infection will circulate in the next few years and raise enormous economic and social issues. COVID-19 has a dramatic impact on health care systems and patient management, and is delaying or stopping breath research activities due to the risk of infection to the operators following contact with patients, potentially infected samples or contaminated equipment. In this scenario, we investigated whether virus inactivation procedures, based on a thermal treatment (60 °C for 1 h) or storage of tubes at room temperature for 72 h, could be used to allow the routine breath analysis workflow to carry on with an optimal level of safety during the pandemic. Tests were carried out using dry and humid gaseous samples containing about 100 representative chemicals found in exhaled breath and ambient air. Samples were collected in commercially available sorbent tubes, i.e. Tenax GR and a combination of Tenax TA, Carbograph 1TD and Carboxen 1003. Our results showed that all compounds were stable at room temperature up to 72 h and that sample humidity was the key factor affecting the stability of the compounds upon thermal treatment. Tenax GR-based sorbent tubes were less impacted by the thermal treatment, showing variations in the range 20%-30% for most target analytes. A significant loss of aldehydes and sulphur compounds was observed using carbon molecular sieve-based tubes. In this case, a dry purge step before inactivation at 60 °C significantly reduced the loss of the target analytes, whose variations were comparable to the method variability. Finally, a breath analysis workflow including a SARS-CoV-2 inactivation treatment is proposed., (Creative Commons Attribution license.)
- Published
- 2021
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23. Determination of peppermint compounds in breath by needle trap micro-extraction coupled with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
- Author
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Bellagambi FG, Lomonaco T, Ghimenti S, Biagini D, Fuoco R, and Francesco FD
- Subjects
- Breath Tests methods, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry methods, Humans, Reproducibility of Results, Mentha piperita, Tandem Mass Spectrometry
- Abstract
Breath analysis is an alternative approach for disease diagnosis and for monitoring therapy. The lack of standardized procedures for collecting and analysing breath samples currently limits its use in clinical practice. In order to overcome this limitation, the 'Peppermint Consortium' was established within the breath community to carry out breath wash-out experiments and define reference values for a panel of compounds contained in the peppermint oil capsule. Here, we present a needle trap micro-extraction technique coupled with gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry for a rapid and accurate determination of alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, limonene, eucalyptol, menthofuran, menthone, menthol and menthyl acetate in mixed breath samples. Detection limits between 1 and 20 pptv were observed when 25 ml of a humidified standard gas mixture were loaded into a needle trap device at a flow rate of 10 ml min
-1 . Inter- and intra-day precisions were lower than 15%, thus confirming the reliability of the assay. Our procedure was used to analyse breath samples taken from a nominally healthy volunteer who was invited to swallow a 200 mg capsule of peppermint oil. Six samples were collected at various times within 6 h of ingestion. Analyte concentrations were not affected by the sampling mode (i.e. mixed vs. end-tidal fraction), whereas respiratory rate and exhalation flow rate values slightly influenced the concentration of the target compounds in breath samples., (© 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd.)- Published
- 2020
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24. Saliva as a non-invasive tool for monitoring oxidative stress in swimmers athletes performing a VO 2max cycle ergometer test.
- Author
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Biagini D, Lomonaco T, Ghimenti S, Fusi J, Cerri E, De Angelis F, Bellagambi FG, Oger C, Galano JM, Bramanti E, Franzoni F, Fuoco R, and Di Francesco F
- Subjects
- Adult, Athletes, Biomarkers analysis, Female, Humans, Male, Oxidative Stress physiology, Young Adult, Exercise Test, Glyoxal analysis, Isoprostanes analysis, Prostaglandins analysis, Saliva chemistry, Swimming physiology
- Abstract
Biomarkers of oxidative stress are generally measured in blood and its derivatives. However, the invasiveness of blood collection makes the monitoring of such chemicals during exercise not feasible. Saliva analysis is an interesting approach in sport medicine because the collection procedure is easy-to-use and does not require specially-trained personnel. These features guarantee the collection of multiple samples from the same subject in a short span of time, thus allowing the monitoring of the subject before, during and after physical tests, training or competitions. The aim of this work was to evaluate the possibility of following the changes in the concentration of some oxidative stress markers in saliva samples taken over time by athletes under exercise. To this purpose, ketones (i.e. acetone, 2-butanone and 2-pentanone), aldehydes (i.e. propanal, butanal, and hexanal), α,β-unsaturated aldehydes (i.e. acrolein and methacrolein) and di-carbonyls (i.e. glyoxal and methylglyoxal) were derivatized with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, and determined by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detector. Prostaglandin E
2 , F2 /E2 -isoprostanes, F2 -dihomo-isoprostanes, F4 -neuroprostanes, and F2 -dihomo-isofuranes were also determined by a reliable analytical procedure that combines micro-extraction by packed sorbent and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Overall the validation process showed that the methods have limits of detection in the range of units of ppb for carbonyls and tens to hundreds of ppt for isoprostanes and prostanoids, very good quantitative recoveries (90-110%) and intra- and inter-day precision lower than 15%. The proof of applicability of the proposed analytical approach was investigated by monitoring the selected markers of oxidative stress in ten swimmers performing a VO2max cycle ergo meter test. The results highlighted a clear increase of salivary by-products of oxidative stress during exercise, whereas a sharp decrease, approaching baseline values, of these compounds was observed in the recovery phase. This study opens up a new approach in the evaluation of oxidative stress and its relation to aerobic activity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2020
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25. Release of harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from photo-degraded plastic debris: A neglected source of environmental pollution.
- Author
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Lomonaco T, Manco E, Corti A, La Nasa J, Ghimenti S, Biagini D, Di Francesco F, Modugno F, Ceccarini A, Fuoco R, and Castelvetro V
- Abstract
Environmental pollution associated to plastic debris is gaining increasing relevance not only as a threat to ecosystems but also for its possible harmful effects on biota and human health. The release of toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a potential hazard associated with the environmental weathering of plastic debris. Artificial aging of reference polymers (polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, high and low density polyethylene) was performed in a Solar Box at 40 °C and 750 W/m
2 . The volatile degradation products were determined before and after 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks of aging using a validated analytical procedure combining headspace (HS) with needle trap microextraction (NTME) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A progressive increase in VOCs was observed during artificial photo-degradation, whose chemical profile resulted polymer-dependent and included carbonyls, lactones, esters, acids, alcohols, ethers, aromatics. The amount of extractable fraction in polar solvents generally showed a similar trend. The same analytical procedure was used to determine VOCs released from plastic debris collected at a marine beach. All samples released harmful compounds (e.g. acrolein, benzene, propanal, methyl vinyl ketone, and methyl propenyl ketone), supporting the initial hypothesis that microplastics represent an unrecognized source of environmental pollution., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
26. Salivary lactate and 8-isoprostaglandin F 2α as potential non-invasive biomarkers for monitoring heart failure: a pilot study.
- Author
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Ghimenti S, Lomonaco T, Bellagambi FG, Biagini D, Salvo P, Trivella MG, Scali MC, Barletta V, Marzilli M, Di Francesco F, Errachid A, and Fuoco R
- Subjects
- Aged, Area Under Curve, Dinoprost metabolism, Hospitalization, Humans, Limit of Detection, Middle Aged, Pilot Projects, ROC Curve, Reproducibility of Results, Biomarkers metabolism, Dinoprost analogs & derivatives, Heart Failure diagnosis, Heart Failure metabolism, Lactic Acid metabolism, Saliva metabolism
- Abstract
Heart failure (HF) is a cardiovascular disease affecting about 26 million people worldwide costing about $100 billons per year. HF activates several compensatory mechanisms and neurohormonal systems, so we hypothesized that the concomitant monitoring of a panel of potential biomarkers related to such conditions might help predicting HF evolution. Saliva analysis by point-of-care devices is expected to become an innovative and powerful monitoring approach since the chemical composition of saliva mirrors that of blood. The aims of this study were (i) to develop an innovative procedure combining MEPS with UHPLC-MS/MS for the simultaneous determination of 8-isoprostaglandin F
2α and cortisol in saliva and (ii) to monitor lactate, uric acid, TNF-α, cortisol, α-amylase and 8-isoprostaglandin F2α concentrations in stimulated saliva samples collected from 44 HF patients during their hospitalisation due to acute HF. Limit of detection of 10 pg/mL, satisfactory recovery (95-110%), and good intra- and inter-day precisions (RSD ≤ 10%) were obtained for 8-isoprostaglandin F2α and cortisol. Salivary lactate and 8-isoprostaglandin F2α were strongly correlated with NT-proBNP. Most patients (about 70%) showed a significant decrease (a factor of 3 at least) of both lactate and 8-isoprostaglandin F2α levels at discharge, suggesting a relationship between salivary levels and improved clinical conditions during hospitalization.- Published
- 2020
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27. Micro-extraction by packed sorbent combined with UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS for the determination of prostanoids and isoprostanoids in dried blood spots.
- Author
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Biagini D, Antoni S, Lomonaco T, Ghimenti S, Salvo P, Bellagambi FG, Scaramuzzo RT, Ciantelli M, Cuttano A, Fuoco R, and Di Francesco F
- Subjects
- Biomarkers blood, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid methods, Dinoprost blood, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Limit of Detection, Solid Phase Microextraction methods, Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization methods, Tandem Mass Spectrometry methods, Dinoprost analogs & derivatives, Dinoprostone analogs & derivatives, Dinoprostone blood, Dried Blood Spot Testing methods, Isoprostanes blood
- Abstract
This work presents a reliable analytical procedure combining micro-extraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry to determine 8-iso prostaglandin F
2α , 8-iso prostaglandin E2 and prostaglandin E2 in dried blood spots (DBSs). To reach this goal, we optimized a fast semi-automated MEPS procedure for the clean-up and pre-concentration of the analytes extracted from a single DBS (50 μL) by a 70:30 v/v methanol:water mixture. Limits of detection of about 20 pg mL-1 , satisfactory recoveries (90-110%) and very good intra- and inter-day precisions (RSD ≤10%) were obtained for all the analytes. The innovative addition of internal standards on the filter paper before DBS sampling allowed to compensate changes in the amount of analyte during storage. Since prostanoids and isoprostanoids are biomarkers involved in the pathogenesis and progression of many diseases (e.g. ductal patency, diabetic nephropathy, and acute lung injury), our analytical method offers interesting diagnostic and prognostic opportunities in the medical field. The present method is currently used for the analysis of such biomarkers in DBSs from preterm newborns collected in the clinical setting., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
28. Using labelled internal standards to improve needle trap micro-extraction technique prior to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.
- Author
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Biagini D, Lomonaco T, Ghimenti S, Onor M, Bellagambi FG, Salvo P, Di Francesco F, and Fuoco R
- Abstract
When working with humid gaseous samples, the amount of water vapour collected in a needle trap along with volatile analytes may vary from sample to sample and decrease during the storage. This has a major impact on desorption efficiency and recovery. We propose the addition of a labelled internal standards to nullify the effect of variable humidity on the analytical performance of needle trap micro-extraction combined with gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Triple-bed (Divinylbenzene/Carbopack X/Carboxen 1000) and single-bed (Tenax GR) needles were tested with standard gaseous mixtures prepared at different relative humidity levels (85%, 50% and 10%). The standard mixtures contained twenty-five analytes representative of breath and ambient air constituents, including hydrocarbons, ketones, aldehydes, aromatics, and sulphurs, in the concentration range 0.1-700 ppbv. The two needles showed different behaviours, as recovery was independent of humidity for single-beds, whereas a low recovery (10-20%) was observed when triple-beds trapped very volatile compounds at low humidity (e.g. pentane and ethanol, 10% relative humidity. Triple-beds showed an almost quantitative recovery (>90%) of all the analytes at 50% and 85% relative humidity. This big difference was probably due to the reduced action of water vapour pressure during the desorption step. The addition of
6 D-acetone and8 D-toluene to the sorbent material before gas sampling and the normalization of raw data nullified this effect, thereby lowering the variations of analyte recovery at different humidity levels down to 20%. Internal standards were also exploited to limit within 10-20% alterations in peak areas of very volatile compounds during needle storage at room temperature. This variation may results from a loss of water vapour either retained from the sorbent material and/or condensed on triple-bed needle walls. After normalization, the inter- and intra-day precision were halved to 5% and 10% in the case of single-beds, respectively, and to 15% and 20% with three-beds. The addition of an internal standard to the sorbent helps to keep the overall analytical procedure under control and improves the reliability of needle trap micro-extraction for the analysis of volatile organic compounds at ultra-trace levels., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2019
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- View/download PDF
29. A sampler prototype for the simultaneous collection of exhaled air and breath condensate.
- Author
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Lomonaco T, Salvo P, Ghimenti S, Biagini D, Antoni S, Bellagambi FG, Di Francesco F, and Fuoco R
- Subjects
- Biomarkers, Exhalation, Specimen Handling, Breath Tests instrumentation, Volatile Organic Compounds
- Abstract
Exhaled air and breath condensate contain a large number of health biomarkers, such as volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, proteins and lipids. Nowadays, the collection of breath samples is carried out by commercial or lab-made sampling systems that collect only one type of sample (e.g. gaseous or condensate phase), thus limiting the diagnostic capability of breath tests. This work presents a portable prototype optimized for the simultaneous collection of gaseous exhaled breath and exhaled breath condensate within five minutes. The system is fully portable and has a total weight of about 1 Kg. An illustrative determination of ethanol, isoprene, acetone, isopropyl alcohol, 1-propanol, 2-butanone, 2-pentanone, toluene and xylenes in breath, and cortisol and 8-iso-prostaglandin F
2α in breath condensate is discussed.- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
30. The Italian National Antarctic Research Programme (PNRA): Contribution to the study of environmental contamination in the Ross Sea and Victoria Land, Antarctica.
- Author
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Corsolini S, Cincinelli A, Capodaglio G, and Fuoco R
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
31. A computational approach for the estimation of heart failure patients status using saliva biomarkers.
- Author
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Tripoliti EE, Papadopoulos TG, Karanasiou GS, Kalatzis FG, Goletsis Y, Bechlioulis A, Ghimenti S, Lomonaco T, Bellagambi F, Trivella MG, Fuoco R, Marzilli M, Scali MC, Naka KK, Errachid A, and Fotiadis DI
- Subjects
- Biomarkers, Hospitalization, Humans, Saliva, Heart Failure
- Abstract
The aim of this work is to present a computational approach for the estimation of the severity of heart failure (HF) in terms of New York Heart Association (NYHA) class and the characterization of the status of the HF patients, during hospitalization, as acute, progressive or stable. The proposed method employs feature selection and classification techniques. However, it is differentiated from the methods reported in the literature since it exploits information that biomarkers fetch. The method is evaluated on a dataset of 29 patients, through a 10-fold-cross-validation approach. The accuracy is 94 and 77% for the estimation of HF severity and the status of HF patients during hospitalization, respectively.
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
32. Paleo-environmental record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorobiphenyls at the peripheral site GV7 in Victoria Land (East Antarctica).
- Author
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Giannarelli S, Ceccarini A, Tiribilli C, Spreafico R, Francesconi S, and Fuoco R
- Subjects
- Antarctic Regions, Canada, Snow chemistry, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Pollutants analysis, Polychlorinated Biphenyls analysis, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons analysis
- Abstract
In this paper we investigated the presence of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Polychlorobiphenyls in a 50-m deep snow/firn core collected at the peripheral site GV7 in East Antarctica during the 2013-2014 XXIX Italian expedition. The concentration depth profile was obtained on the basis of the total concentration of fourteen PAHs and seven PCBs individually determined by gas chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Both classes of pollutants showed synchronized concentration vs time profile throughout the whole period of time covered by the snow/firn core (1892-2012). A correlation between major explosive volcanic eruptions and the concentration maxima of the pollutants was found. PAH maximum (9 ng/L) was about twice the background level (5 ng/L). PCBs showed a similar but more limited trend with barely visible volcanic maxima. This concurrence highlights the contribution of the major explosive volcanic events to the global contamination level for PAHs, as expected, but also for PCBs whose industrial production and use began in 1930. Excluding the maximum values, PAHs and PCBs showed an increase in the period 1956-1986: PCBs from about 0.05 to 0.21 ng/l (400% increase), and PAHs from about 3.5 to 7.8 ng/l (100% increase). Finally, in the last decade (2000-2010) the trend of these pollutants was different: (i) PCBs constantly decrease (from 0.15 ng/L to 0.10 ng/L), thanks to the implemented restriction on their production and on their use only in closed systems in many countries; (ii) PAHs remains practically constant around 6.5 ng/L., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
33. A graphene oxide pH sensor for wound monitoring.
- Author
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Melai B, Salvo P, Calisi N, Moni L, Bonini A, Paoletti C, Lomonaco T, Mollica V, Fuoco R, and Di Francesco F
- Subjects
- Graphite, Humans, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Oxides, Potentiometry, Wound Healing, Electrodes, Wounds and Injuries
- Abstract
This article describes the fabrication and characterization of a pH sensor for monitoring the wound status. The pH sensitive layer consists of a graphene oxide (GO) layer obtained by drop-casting 5 μΐ of GO dispersion onto the working electrode of a screen-printed substrate. Sensitivity was 31.8 mV/pH with an accuracy of 0.3 unit of pH. Open-circuit potentiometry was carried out to measure pH in an exudate sample. The GO pH sensor proved to be reliable as the comparison with results obtained from a standard glass electrode pH-meter showed negligible differences (<; 0.09 pH units in the worst case) for measurements performed over a period of 4 days.
- Published
- 2016
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34. Determination of sevoflurane and isopropyl alcohol in exhaled breath by thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for exposure assessment of hospital staff.
- Author
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Ghimenti S, Tabucchi S, Bellagambi FG, Lomonaco T, Onor M, Trivella MG, Fuoco R, and Di Francesco F
- Subjects
- 2-Propanol pharmacokinetics, Adult, Anesthetics, Inhalation analysis, Anesthetics, Inhalation pharmacokinetics, Breath Tests, Exhalation, Female, Humans, Limit of Detection, Male, Methyl Ethers pharmacokinetics, Personnel, Hospital, Propanols analysis, Sevoflurane, Young Adult, 2-Propanol analysis, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry methods, Methyl Ethers analysis, Occupational Exposure analysis
- Abstract
Volatile anaesthetics and disinfection chemicals pose ubiquitous inhalation and dermal exposure risks in hospital and clinic environments. This work demonstrates specific non-invasive breath biomonitoring methodology for assessing staff exposures to sevoflurane (SEV) anaesthetic, documenting its metabolite hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) and measuring exposures to isopropanol (IPA) dermal disinfection fluid. Methods are based on breath sample collection in Nalophan bags, followed by an aliquot transfer to adsorption tube, and subsequent analysis by thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Ambient levels of IPA were also monitored. These methods could be generalized to other common volatile chemicals found in medical environments. Calibration curves were linear (r(2)=0.999) in the investigated ranges: 0.01-1000 ppbv for SEV, 0.02-1700 ppbv for IPA, and 0.001-0.1 ppbv for HFIP. The instrumental detection limit was 10 pptv for IPA and 5 pptv for SEV, both estimated by extracted ion-TIC chromatograms, whereas the HFIP minimum detectable concentration was 0.5 pptv as estimated in SIM acquisition mode. The methods were applied to hospital staff working in operating rooms and clinics for blood draws. SEV and HFIP were present in all subjects at concentrations in the range of 0.7-18, and 0.002-0.024 ppbv for SEV and HFIP respectively. Correlation between IPA ambient air and breath concentration confirmed the inhalation pathway of exposure (r=0.95, p<0.001) and breath-borne IPA was measured as high as 1500 ppbv. The methodology is easy to implement and valuable for screening exposures to common hospital chemicals. Although the overall exposures documented were generally below levels of health concern in this limited study, outliers were observed that indicate potential for acute exposures., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.)
- Published
- 2015
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
35. A breath sampling system assessing the influence of respiratory rate on exhaled breath composition.
- Author
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Lomonaco T, Salvo P, Ghimenti S, Biagini D, Bellagambi F, Fuoco R, and Di Francesco F
- Subjects
- Biomarkers analysis, Carbon Dioxide analysis, Humans, Partial Pressure, Tidal Volume, Volatile Organic Compounds analysis, Breath Tests methods, Exhalation, Respiratory Rate physiology
- Abstract
This work presents a computerized system to monitor mouth pressure, tidal volume, exhaled airflow, respiration rate and end-tidal partial pressure of CO2 during breath collection. The system was used to investigate the effect of different respiratory rates on the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) concentrations in exhaled breath. For this purpose, VOCs with well-defined biochemical pathways and different chemical and physical properties were selected as biomarkers related to metabolism (acetone and isopropyl alcohol), cholesterol synthesis (isoprene) and intestinal microflora activity (ethanol). Mixed breath was collected from a nominally healthy volunteer in resting conditions by filling a Nalophan bag. The subject followed a regimented breathing pattern at different respiratory rates (10, 30 and 50 breaths per minute). Results highlight that ventilation pattern strongly influences the concentration of the selected compounds. The proposed system allows exhaled breath to be collected also in patients showing dyspnea such as in case of chronic heart failure, asthma and pulmonary diseases.
- Published
- 2015
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
36. The Removal of β2-Microglobulin in Spent Dialysate Cannot Be Monitored by Spectrophotometric Analysis.
- Author
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Donadio C, Calia D, Ghimenti S, Onor M, Colombini E, Fuoco R, and Di Francesco F
- Subjects
- Creatinine blood, Humans, Kidneys, Artificial, Membranes, Artificial, Renal Insufficiency, Chronic physiopathology, Urea blood, Uric Acid blood, Artifacts, Dialysis Solutions chemistry, Renal Dialysis, Renal Insufficiency, Chronic therapy, Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet methods, beta 2-Microglobulin blood
- Published
- 2015
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
37. Influence of sampling on the determination of warfarin and warfarin alcohols in oral fluid.
- Author
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Lomonaco T, Ghimenti S, Piga I, Biagini D, Onor M, Fuoco R, and Di Francesco F
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, International Normalized Ratio methods, Saliva metabolism, Warfarin administration & dosage, Warfarin pharmacokinetics
- Abstract
Background and Objective: The determination of warfarin, RS/SR- and RR/SS-warfarin alcohols in oral fluid may offer additional information to the INR assay. This study aimed to establish an optimized sampling technique providing the best correlation between the oral fluid and the unbound plasma concentrations of these compounds., Materials and Methods: Samples of non-stimulated and stimulated oral fluid, and blood were collected from 14 patients undergoing warfarin therapy. After acidification, analytes were extracted with a dichloromethane/hexane mixture and determined by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Plasma samples were also ultrafiltered for the determination of the unbound fraction. The chromatographic separation was carried out in isocratic conditions with a phosphate buffer/methanol mobile phase on a C-18 reversed-phase column. The absence of interfering compounds was verified by HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF., Results: Stimulation generally increased the oral fluid pH to values close to blood pH in about 6 minutes. The concentration of warfarin and RS/SR-warfarin alcohols in oral fluid followed the same trend, whereas the concentration of RR/SS-warfarin alcohols was not affected. Six minute stimulation with chewing gum followed by collection with a polyester swab was the best sampling procedure, with a good repeatability (RSD < 10%) and relatively low inter-subject variability (RSD = 30%) of the oral fluid to plasma ratio. This procedure provided strong correlations between the measured oral fluid and unbound plasma concentration of warfarin (r = 0.92, p < 0.001) and RS/SR-warfarin alcohols (r = 0.84, p < 0.001), as well as between stimulated oral fluid and total plasma concentration of warfarin (r = 0.78, p < 0.001) and RS/SR-warfarin alcohols (r = 0.81, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: The very good correlation between oral fluid and unbound plasma concentration of warfarin and RS/SR-warfarin alcohols suggests that oral fluid analysis could provide clinically useful information for the monitoring of anticoagulant therapy, complementary to the INR assay.
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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