Monoclonal antibody for the development of specific immunoassays to detect Enrofloxacin in foods of animal origin

The carbodiimide active ester method was employed to synthesise the antigen of 1-cyclopropyl-7-(4-ethylpiperazin-1-yl)-6-fluoro-4-oxo-1,4-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid [Enrofloxacin (ENFX)], and male Balb/c mice were used to produce anti-ENFX monoclonal antibody. Based on the checkerboard titration, an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay standard curve was established. This assay was sensitive and highly specific to ENFX with the half maximal inhibitory concentration and limit of detection values of 0.15?ng?mL^?1 and 0.028ng?mL^?1, respectively. Similarly, the antibody had a high affinity as seen in A_max values. Spiked cow milk beef liver and fish samples analysed using this kit had recoveries in the range of 90.2–110.2%, 70.7–81.5% and 89.1–101%, respectively, showing satisfactory results. The results suggest that this ELISA kit could be applied as a screening method to detect and control the illegal content of ENFX in food products.     

Pill Burden,Adherence, Hyperphosphatemia,and Quality of Life in Maintenance Dialysis Patients

Background and objectives: Dialysis patients have a high burden of co-existing diseases, poor health-related quality of life (HR-QOL), and are prescribed many medications. There are no data on daily pill burden and its relationship to HR-QOL and adherence to therapy.Design, setting, participants, & measurements: Two hundred and thirty-three prevalent, chronic dialysis patients from three units in different geographic areas in the United States underwent a single, cross-sectional assessment of total daily pill burden and that from phosphate binders. HR-QOL, adherence to phosphate binders, and serum phosphorus levels were the three main outcome measures studied.Results: The median daily pill burden was 19; in one-quarter of subjects, it exceeded 25 pills/d. Higher pill burden was independently associated with lower physical component summary scale scores on HR-QOL on both univariate and multivariate analyses. Phosphate binders accounted for about one-half of the daily pill burden; 62% of the participants were nonadherent. There was a modest relationship between pill burden from phosphate binders and adherence and serum phosphorus levels; these associations persisted on multivariate analyses. There was no relationship between adherence and serum phosphorus levels.Conclusions: The daily pill burden in dialysis patients is one of the highest reported to date in any chronic disease state. Higher pill burden is associated with lower HR-QOL. There are many reasons for uncontrolled serum phosphorus levels; increasing the number of prescribed pills does not seem to improve control and may come at the cost of poorer HR-QOL.Patients undergoing maintenance dialysis have a high morbidity and mortality (1). Several studies have also shown that dialysis patients have a poor health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) and the HR-QOL is an independent predictor for death in these patients (2–6). The high burden of co-existing diseases, depression, and a high symptom burden explain, in part, the significant impairment in HR-QOL in dialysis patients (7,8). It has been reported that an average dialysis patient is expected to take 10 to 12 different types of medications (9,10). However, the authors are unaware of any study that has evaluated the daily pill burden and its relationship to HR-QOL. Furthermore, it is unclear if the relationship (if any) between pill burden and HR-QOL is independent of the burden of co-existing diseases.The contribution of different classes of drugs to the daily pill burden in dialysis patients has also not heretofore been investigated. Clinical experience suggests that phosphate binders are probably the single largest contributor to the daily pill burden. Serum phosphorus has now consistently been shown to be an independent predictor of the risk for death (11); the high pill burden from phosphate binders may affect patients’ adherence to therapy and their ability to maintain optimal serum phosphorus levels (12). It is likely that the relationship between pill burden and hyperphosphatemia is bidirectional, and thus, a high pill burden may be one of the factors that limit ability to optimize serum phosphorus levels.This cross-sectional study was undertaken to test the following hypotheses: phosphate binders are the largest contributors to the total daily pill burden of maintenance dialysis patients, and increasing pill burden is associated with impaired HR-QOL. The authors further posited that higher pill burden from phosphate binders is associated with lower adherence to therapy and higher serum phosphorus levels.