Detecting opioid metabolites in exhaled breath condensate (EBC)
Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) collection provides a promising matrix for bioanalysis of endogenous
biomarkers of health and also for exogenous compounds like drugs. There is little information
regarding drugs and their metabolites contained in breath, as well as their pharmacokinetics. In
this present work, we use a simple and non-invasive technique to collect EBC from chronic pain
patients using different analgesic opioid drugs to manage pain. Six patients received continuous
infusion of morphine and hydromorphone intravenously (IV), together with other analgesic drugs (IV
and orally). Repeated sampling of serum and EBC was done at two time points separated by 90 min. The
EBC was collected using a glass tube surrounded by dry ice, and an ethanol solvent wash of the glass
was performed after EBC extraction to retrieve the apolar compounds stuck to the glass surface. All
samples were analyzed with liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to identify
possibl...
Source: Journal of Breath Research - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Eva Borras, Andy Cheng, Ted Wun, Kristen L Reese, Matthias Frank, Michael Schivo and Cristina E Davis Source Type: research