Strong cation Exchanger (BCX) cited in a study on a radiopharmaceutical for Neuroendocrine tumor

It’s no surprise that oral fluid drug testing has gained recent popularity in forensic and clinical laboratories. Not only is it easier to acquire from a sample collection perspective, but also, it’s much less invasive when comparing the measures utilized to solicit urine and blood samples. 

In the agricultural community, there are thousands of pesticides that could be potentially used to protect crops. In a recent paper published in Journal of Food and Agricultural Chemistry (J. Agric. Food Chem. (2017) 65, 473,493) by J.Wang et al., (Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Calgary, Canada), UCT’s Enviro Clean QuEChERS Pouches were used in conjunction with Enviro Clean 15mL dSPE centrifuge tubes for targeted screening of 448 pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables.

Numerous polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) and isothermal amplification methods employed currently in molecular diagnostic assays have been developed, significantly improving assay sensitivity and specificity as well as shortening overall time. In spite of this objective, nucleic acid target amplification continues to present challenges for dealing with “false-positive” results due to environmental or reagent contaminants introduced during the testing process. This has been addressed in a recent article authored by Wanyuan Ao et al., published in PLoS ONE 12(2): e0171915 in which UCT silane amine-functional T-structure polydimethylsiloxane (TSPS) was described in the production of crystalline silicon wafers. In this paper, the authors describe a strategy that can distinguish between staphylococcus species truly present in a clinical sample from contaminating staphylococcus species introduced during the testing process.

Marilyn J Schneider, Steven J Lehotay, and Alan R Lightfield at the US Department of Agriculture recently published a paper in the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.