ABSTRACT
The considerable refinements necessary to enable Class I and II microbiological safety cabinets to operate in a force-ventilated laboratory and to meet appropriate safety criteria have been reported previously. The continued successful operation of such cabinets without a deterioration of operator protection is described. The performance of two Class II units, one meeting and one failing the current British Standard applied to four head KI-discus testing, is compared and discussed. In addition, some further potential difficulties within the environment, which could compromise cabinet containment, are highlighted.
Subject(s)
Containment of Biohazards/instrumentation , Laboratories/standards , Laboratory Infection/prevention & control , Containment of Biohazards/standards , Environment, Controlled , Humans , United Kingdom , VentilationABSTRACT
Rapid and selective determination of neurotransmitter amino acids in rat and human brain is accomplished by pre-column derivatization with o-phthaldehyde-3-mercaptopropionic acid, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic separation, and fluorimetric detection. Aspartate, taurine, glutamate, and glycine are determined in less than 12 min with intra- and inter-assay precisions of 2.1-9.5% and 4.2-9.2%, respectively. gamma-Aminobutyric acid is determined in less than 8 min with intra- and inter-assay precisions of 1.6 and 11.7%, respectively. Both assays utilize internal standards and require a minimum of sample preparation.
Subject(s)
Amino Acids/analysis , Brain Chemistry , Neurotransmitter Agents/analysis , Animals , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid , Electrochemistry , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Indicators and Reagents , RatsABSTRACT
Performance of microbore reverse phase HPLC coupled with amperometric detection is detailed for the analysis of catecholamines in small tissue samples and human blood plasma and cerebrospinal fluid. Extraction procedures for pre-concentration and clean-up of these samples are described. Marked signal enhancement is observed due to the smaller column volume as well as the increased coulometric yield which results from the lower flow rates used with this technique. Detection limits of 0.2 to 0.5 picograms are obtained allowing analysis of catecholamines in extremely small tissue samples or small volumes of cerebrospinal fluid or plasma.
