The Column-10-24-2012

Essential oil inhalation is a holistic and economic treatment for the alleviation of anxiety. Whether this effect is of a psychological or physiological basis has been in dispute since the beginnings of ‘modern’ medicine. Many would argue that any effects felt are simply psychological, a ‘placebo’ effect, as if the individual believes the treatment will aid them it does.

Urinary excretion profiling is a key element in the pharmokinetic characterization of new chemical entities (NCEs). Recent advances in ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) column technology offer improved results for liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS¬–MS) analysis, enabling rapid quantification of specific drugs and their metabolites in biological matrices.

Invented by J. Phillips in 1989, comprehensive GCXGC has strong chromatographic resolving power; from its original petrochemical applications it has been extended to many others. However, coelutions with matrix peaks are often observed and a higher separation power is required.

The Column spoke to Hans van den Heuvel, the Product Marketing Manager for Bruker Chemical & Applied Markets.

Malaria is the 5th responsible cause of death from infectious disease worldwide, and approximately half the global population are at risk. 1A team of scientists in Missouri, USA3 has recently answered a long-standing question regarding the metabolism of the parasite, advancing research towards identifying novel therapeutics

Drug bioavailability, the rate at which the active compound of a drug becomes available at the site of action, is key to the successful development of new drugs. The development of hydrogels, self-assembling polymer-based scaffolds, has rapidly accelerated in recent years because of their potential in the improvement of drug bioavailability.

Organophosphates (OPs) are commonly found in commercial pesticides and are highly toxic to humans if inhaled or ingested, resulting in both behavioural and psychological symptoms. OPs chemically modify the essential protein acetylcholine esterase, which is principally responsible for the breakdown of the essential neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

Incognito ruminates on the value of setting up a method from scratch.