We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Mass Spectrometry Technology Maps Chemicals as They Migrate Into Skin

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 14 May 2014
Print article
A mass spectrometry technique gaining acceptance for medical applications such as imaging tumor surfaces can also be used to analyze the migration of small-molecule compounds applied to the skin. Because skin is such a complicated organ, the technology could be a helpful for developing transdermal drugs.

The study’s findings were published April 28, 2014, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Stanford University (Stanford, CA, USA) chemistry Profs. Richard N. Zare and Justin Du Bois, postdoc Livia S. Eberlin, graduate student John V. Mulcahy, and colleagues revealed that desorption electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) imaging has many advantages over other approaches that require complicated preparation of skin samples.

Moreover, DESI-MS imaging can be performed under ambient settings, instead of in a vacuum condition, as other MS methods require. Furthermore, test compounds do not have to be radioactively labeled or tagged with unwieldy dye molecules that could affect the compounds’ normal migration through skin. “That’s why this method is very appealing,” said Mark R. Prausnitz, a chemical and biomolecular engineering professor who heads the Laboratory for Drug Delivery at Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA, USA).

DESI-MS was developed 10 years ago and involves spraying charged solvent droplets at a surface. Backsplash droplets containing dissolved molecules are then captured and examined using a mass spectrometer. The technology has been used for medical applications such as imaging drugs in tissue samples.

The Stanford scientists chose a number of small molecules that change sodium channels in skin cells, including lidocaine and a shellfish toxin. They applied them to the surface of skin samples and were able to track the compounds’ migration to a depth of 1.2 mm.

Such studies of drug migration are required to enlarge the limited selection of transdermal drugs, according to Prof. Prausnitz. Only approximately 30 agents, such as nicotine, have transdermal versions. The drugs must be small, lipophilic, and effective at a low dose. With this newly adapted tool, however, scientists could more readily study methods to enhance skin permeation, Prof. Prausnitz reported. “We’re very interested in the pathway--which part of the skin did the drug go through?”

Related Links:

Stanford University


Gold Member
Antipsychotic TDM Assays
Saladax Antipsychotic Assays
Antipsychotic TDM AssaysSaladax Antipsychotic Assays
New
Lab Sample Rotator
H5600 Revolver
New
Histamine ELISA
Histamine ELISA

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: The new saliva-based test for heart failure measures two biomarkers in about 15 minutes (Photo courtesy of Trey Pittman)

POC Saliva Testing Device Predicts Heart Failure in 15 Minutes

Heart failure is a serious condition where the heart muscle is unable to pump sufficient oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. It ranks as a major cause of death globally and is particularly fatal for... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: The smartphone technology measures blood hemoglobin levels from a digital photo of the inner eyelid (Photo courtesy of Purdue University)

First-Of-Its-Kind Smartphone Technology Noninvasively Measures Blood Hemoglobin Levels at POC

Blood hemoglobin tests are among the most frequently conducted blood tests, as hemoglobin levels can provide vital insights into various health conditions. However, traditional tests are often underutilized... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: Under a microscope, DNA repair is visible as bright green spots (“foci”) in the blue-stained cell DNA. Orange highlights actively growing cancer cells (Photo courtesy of WEHI)

Simple Blood Test Could Detect Drug Resistance in Ovarian Cancer Patients

Every year, hundreds of thousands of women across the world are diagnosed with ovarian and breast cancer. PARP inhibitors (PARPi) therapy has been a major advancement in treating these cancers, particularly... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: HNL Dimer can be a novel and potentially useful clinical tool in antibiotic stewardship in sepsis (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Unique Blood Biomarker Shown to Effectively Monitor Sepsis Treatment

Sepsis remains a growing problem across the world, linked to high rates of mortality and morbidity. Timely and accurate diagnosis, along with effective supportive therapy, is essential in reducing sepsis-related... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.