Performance characteristics of the Cozart RapiScan Oral Fluid Drug Testing System for opiates in comparison to ELISA and GC/MS following controlled codeine administration

Oral fluid is an interesting alternative matrix for drug testing in many environments, including law enforcement, workplace drug testing, and drug treatment facilities. Performance characteristics of the FDA-cleared, qualitative, Cozart RapiScan Opiate Oral Fluid Drug Testing System (Opiate Cozart RapiScan System or Opiate CRS) were compared to the semi-quantitative Cozart Microplate EIA Opiate Oral Fluid Kit (Opiate ELISA) and to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The following oral fluid opiate cutoffs were evaluated: the GC/MS limit of quantification (LOQ) of 2.5 mg/l; 15 microg/l currently used for oral fluid testing in the United Kingdom (UK); 30 microg/l (Opiate CRS cutoff); and 40 microg/l, the proposed Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) cutoff. Subjects provided informed consent to participate in this IRB-approved research and resided on the closed research ward throughout the study. Three oral codeine doses of 60 mg/70 kg were administered over a 7-day period. After a 3-week break, subjects received three doses of 120 mg/70 kg within 7 days. Oral fluid specimens (N = 1273) were analyzed for codeine (COD), norcodeine (NCOD), morphine (MOR) and normorphine (NMOR) by GC/MS with an LOQ of 2.5 microg/l for all analytes. MOR and NMOR were not detected in any sample; 26.5% of the specimens were positive for COD and 13.7% for NCOD. Opiate CRS uses a preset, qualitative cutoff of 10 microg/l; this is equivalent to 30 microg/l in undiluted oral fluid as the oral fluid collection process involves a 1:3 dilution with buffer. Sensitivity, specificity, and efficiency of Opiate CRS compared to Opiate ELISA were 98.6, 98.1, and 98.2% at a 30 microg/l cutoff and 99.0, 96.2, and 96.6% at a 40 microg/l cutoff. Compared to the much lower GC/MS LOQ of 2.5 microg/l, sensitivity, specificity and efficiency were 66.8, 99.3 and 90.7%. Increasing the GC/MS cutoff to the current UK level yielded performance characteristics of 81.5% (sensitivity), 99.3% (specificity), and 95.4% (efficiency). Using a GC/MS cutoff identical to the preset Opiate CRS cutoff yielded sensitivity, specificity, and efficiency of 88.5, 99.2, and 97.5%, respectively. At the proposed SAMSHA confirmation cutoff of 40 microg/l, sensitivity increased with little change in specificity and efficiency (91.3% sensitivity, 98.9% specificity, and 97.5% efficiency). Oral fluid is a suitable matrix for detecting drugs of abuse. Opiate CRS, with a 30 microg/l cutoff, is sufficiently sensitive, specific and efficient for oral fluid opiate analysis, performing similarly to Opiate ELISA at the same cutoff, and having performance characteristics >91% when compared to GC/MS at the proposed SAMHSA cutoff.     

An enterprise-development strategy for Zambia

Although Zambia's deteriorating macro-economic situation has created a difficult environment for business, it also creates opportunities for the emergence of small and micro enterprises. Recent government policy reforms affecting these firms are discussed, along with existing programmes for credit, training, technical assistance, and common-site facilities/business incubators. The current programmes are limited in scope relative to the potential demand, and qualitative improvements are needed. Time-phased options for assisting small and micro enterprises are discussed.     

Aromatic content in medium range distillate products--Part I: an examination of various liquids

Classification of ignitable liquids in accordance with voluntary consensus-based standards published by ASTM International has become increasingly specific, relying upon both the chemical composition and the boiling point range of submitted ignitable liquids. This classification system includes among others, specific classes for distillates and dearomatized distillates. In this study, a variety of medium-range ignitable liquids were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Several methods of data analysis were utilized to examine the relative aliphatic and aromatic contents in these liquids. Results show that commercially available products in the medium range exhibit a broad range of compositions with respect to the relative proportion of aliphatic and aromatic compounds and that some liquids may not be easily classified. This study demonstrates the importance of examining the proportion of aliphatics:aromatics for classifying such liquids and suggests guidelines for differentiating medium range distillates, dearomatized distillates, and blended products.     

Evaluation of iodine-benzoflavone and ruthenium tetroxide spray reagents for the detection of latent fingermarks at the crime scene

The performance of two spray reagents, iodine-benzoflavone and ruthenium tetroxide (RTX), was evaluated and compared with the conventional technique currently used at the crime scene, that is, powdering. Neither the spray techniques nor powdering were shown to be suitable for all surfaces and ages of marks tested. On some surfaces such as glass and treated wood, powdering was still the superior technique, whereas the spray techniques produced better development on wallpaper, vinyl, and brick. Sequencing work showed that RTX was incompatible with powdering and cyanoacrylate (with a rhodamine 6G stain). Iodine-benzoflavone can be used successfully either before or after powdering in a sequence; however, it was incompatible with cyanoacrylate. Two non-CFC formulations of iodine-benzoflavone using HFC4310mee and HFE7100 solvents were tested and shown not to be as effective as the original Arklone (CFC-113) formulation; however, the HFC4310mee solvent is recommended as the most suitable replacement solvent. Due to the expense of the commercial RTX spray, attempts at formulating a more cost-effective version were also carried out. A formulation was developed that gave comparable development to the commercial version but at a much cheaper cost, and with a shelf life of up to two months. Recommendations are presented for which techniques are suitable for different surfaces and ages of marks. Powdering was shown to be the best technique on all ages of marks tested on treated wood, glass, and also on marks aged three days and older on paint. Iodine-benzoflavone was the best technique on wallpaper, vinyl, brick, and raw wood. RTX was the best detection technique for fresh marks and marks aged up to one day on wallpaper and paint.