) Biological and clinical research on the effects of various autocrine, paracrine and neurocrine factors present in biological samples require the ability to accurately and reliably measure these products. Similarly, the assessment of drug action necessitates the measurement of these agents and their metabolites in tissue and fluid extracts to permit definition of kinetics.
These specific aims constitute the rationale for the primary function of the Analytical Laboratory. This facility has been in existence since 1989. It is a suite consisting of a 600 sq. ft. chemistry laboratory, a 200 sq. ft. 4 degree C cold room, 2 equipment rooms, which contain -70 and -30 degree C freezers, spin vac/lyophilizer, and gamma and scintillation counters. The unit is fully capable of coupling antigens, creating polyclonal rabbit antibodies, coupling of the iodinated ligand, characterization of the antibody and the assay. In addition, it has dedicated HPLCs for identification of column immunoreactivity and gas chromatography for drugs. The laboratory has on-line assays for a variety of peptides (enkephalins, NPY, tachykinins, galanin, bombesin, CGRP), amines and metabolites (catecholamines and indolamines), amino acids, purines (adenosine, ATP/ADP/AMP), prostanoids (PGE1/2; LTB4/C4/D4), and cytokines (TNF, IL1). In addition to these hormones, a variety of drugs and their metabolites are also subject to analysis. These include opiates (morphine, meperidine, fentanyl and derivatives, methadone, codeine), local anesthetics (lidocaine, bupivacaine, mexiletine) injectable anesthetic (propofol, midazolam, barbiturates) and ethanol. The facility is fully equipped for data management with a Windows NT workstation and (secured) campus-wide E thernet-enabled results distribution.
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