Applications

The ATCL specializes in working with biological samples from a variety of species, including human samples. The laboratory has experience with matrices as varied as human blood, urine, and breast milk to alligator eggs and bird brains. Additionally, the laboratory is in the process of developing new capabilities for non-targeted analyses of environmental and biological samples.

Environmental Research

Analyses are available for a wide variety of chemicals of environmental interest including the following examples:

  • Pesticides, including organochlorine insecticides (e.g. dieldrin, lindane, chlordane, methoxychlor, toxaphene), herbicides (e.g., glyphosate, 2,4-D, atrazine), rodenticides (brodifacoum, diphacinone, difenthialone).
  • Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
  • Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)
  • Metals (including lead, arsenic, cadmium)
  • Polybrominated flame retardants (PBDE)
  • Perfluorinated compounds (e.g., PFOA, PFOS)
  • Pharmaceutical and personal care products, (e.g., triclosan, triclocarban), emerging contaminants
  • Metabolites (e.g., hydroxy- metabolites of PAH, PBDE, and methoxychlor)

Endocrine Research

The laboratory offers analysis for most hormones (e.g., corticosteroids, androgens, estrogens, artificial hormones such as ethinylestradiol and levonorgestrel) to support endocrine research projects and the study of endocrine disrupting substances. Hormones can be extracted from biological samples such as plasma, serum, tissue, cell, culture media or environmental samples such as water and sediment.

Lipidomics

The ABSCIEX 6500 QTRAP LC-MS/MS, has specialized capacity to analyze samples for lipidomics. Like proteomics and metabolomics, lipidomics is a way to see lipids as a constituent of more complex molecules, and how changes in these organism lipids may affect health and disease. ATCL has the capability to conduct a targeted lipidomics profile of tissues and cells by acquiring more than 1100 lipid species in a single run.

Clinical and Pharmaceutical Research

The ATCL has experience conducting analyses to support drug development, including pharmacokinetic studies measuring parent drug and metabolite(s). The laboratory has supported biomedical research involving human subjects including analyses of illicit substances (THC and cannabinoids, cocaine, amphetamines, morphine and other opioids), amino acid panels, uracil, homocysteine, apolipoprotein B-100, DHEA, vitamins, folic acid and folate cofactors in blood, fatty acids in blood and breast milk, isoflavones in both nutritional and human prostate cancer studies, antimicrobial agents (chloramphenicol, oxytetracycline, ticarcillin cefepime), methylphenidate, midazolam and fentanyl trials for new applications or current drugs, and anabolic steroids in fluids and various tissues.

In addition to research support, the ATCL has conducted stability studies and provided external validation for pharmaceutical preparations, as well as acted as a resource for drug diversion and/or abuse testing.