Gas chromatographic determination of methamphetamine and its metabolite amphetamine in human plasma and urine following conversion to N-propyl derivatives

A gas chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of methamphetamine and its metabolite amphetamine in human plasma and urine is described. The method utilizes reductive alkylation with propionaldehyde and sodium borohydride to produce N-propyl derivatives, which have excellent chromatographic properties. Structural analogs of the analytes, p-methylmethamphetamine and p-methylamphetamine, are used as internal standards. The method has good precision and accuracy for concentrations ranging from less than 10 ng/ml to 5000 ng/ml and has been used to measure plasma concentrations as part of a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic study of methamphetamine in humans.     

A novel acid phosphatase excreted by Penicillium funiculosum that hydrolyzes both phosphodiesters and phosphomonoesters with aryl leaving groups

An acid phosphatase has been purified from the culture broth of Penicillium funiculosum by procedures including SP-Sephadex column chromatography and Sephacryl S-200 gel filtration. The phosphatase appears to be a 76 kDa heterodimer composed of 51 and 26 kDa subunits on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme hydrolyzes both phosphodiesters and phosphomonoesters, but only those with aryl leaving groups. At the early phase of degradation of bis-p-nitrophenyl phosphate by the enzyme, inorganic phosphate and the intermediary product, p-nitrophenyl phosphate, are liberated at approximately the same rate. This indicates that the intermediary phosphomonoester produced on the enzyme is further hydrolyzed in situ or dissociates into the medium at approximately the same probability.