Author Archive

Detecting GHB in Spiked Drinks

Detection of GHB in wine

γ-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is an odourless, tasteless compound sold illegally as a recreational drug under various names including ‘liquid ecstasy’. However it is more widely known as a date rape drug, causing catalepsy and short term memory loss when added to drinks.  Renato Zenobi and researchers at ETH Zürich report a new application of secondary electrospray ionisation (SESI) mass spectrometry for the detection of GHB in drinks and bodily fluids. The results were found to be consistent across different mass spectrometers and matrices. Both rapid and reliable, this method has the potential to prevent crimes by detecting drugs like GHB (and the structurally related compound GBL) in the headspace of a drink before it is consumed.

This article will be free to read until January 9th. Take a look now:

In situ detection of γ-hydroxybutyrate and γ-butyrolactone in drinks by secondary electrospray ionization
Christian Berchtold, Stefan Schmid, Lukas Meier and Renato Zenobi
Anal. Methods, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2AY26009C

Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)

Detecting Mercury with a Mobile Phone

 

García et al., Anal. Methods, 2013, 5, 54-58

Mercury is highly toxic, and contamination of drinking water by Hg(II) can cause serious damage to the brain and kidneys.
José M. García and colleagues at the University of Burgos have developed a simple method for detecting mercury in aqueous solutions. They report the synthesis of a polymeric “sensory membrane” containing a dye compound based on rhodamine. When dipped in water, this membrane produces a colour change relative to the concentration of mercury, thus allowing detection and quantitation by the naked eye. Furthermore, a photograph of the coloured membrane taken using the camera on a standard smartphone produces RGB parameters that can accurately quantify the amount of mercury present in tap water with an excellent limit of detection.

To know more about this research, take a look at the original paper. It will be free for the next 6 weeks.

Sub-ppm quantification of Hg(II) in aqueous media using both the naked eye and digital information from pictures of a colorimetric sensory polymer membrane taken with the digital camera of a conventional mobile phone
Hamid El Kaoutit, Pedro Estévez, Félix C. García, Felipe Serna and José M. García
Anal. Methods, 2013, 5, 54-58
DOI: 10.1039/C2AY26307F

Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)

Identifying Toxic Chemicals in Fish Poisoning

Jiang et al., Anal. Methods, 2013, Advance Article

Jiang et al., Anal. Methods, 2013, Advance Article

In regions where commercial fisheries play a major role in the economy, large scale poisoning of the aquaculture can have a devastating effect. It is important for forensic investigations that the toxic chemicals can be identified and quantitated accurately. Haipeng Jiang and Jing Zou at the Wuhan Institute of Technology have developed an LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of three commonly used fishpond poisons: pentachlorophenol, niclosamide and fenpropathrin. These compounds are particularly challenging to detect by conventional GC-MS methods. The authors tested their procedure using a real life case study of fish poisoning in Hubei Province, China, where an unknown toxin diminished the production of farmed pearls in the area in 2010.

This paper will be free to read until Dec 10th.

Simultaneous determination of pentachlorophenol, niclosamide and fenpropathrin in fishpond water using an LC-MS/MS method for forensic investigation
Haipeng Jiang,  Yinhua Zhang,  Xiangguo Chen,  Jizhong Lv and Jing Zou
Anal. Methods, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2AY25685A

Digg This
Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter
Google Buzz (aka. Google Reader)