The Combination of Electrochemistry and Microfluidic Technology in Drug Metabolism Studies

Abstract

Drugs are metabolized within the liver (pH 7.4) by phase I and phase II metabolism. During the process, reactive metabolites can be formed that react covalently with biomolecules and induce toxicity. Identifying and detecting reactive metabolites is an important part of drug development. Preclinical and clinical investigations are conducted to assess the toxicity and safety of a new drug candidate. Electrochemistry coupled to mass spectrometry is an ideal complementary technique to the current preclinical studies, a pure instrumental approach without any purification steps and tedious protocols. The combination of microfluidics with electrochemistry towards the mimicry of drug metabolism offers portability, low volume of reagents and faster reaction times. This review explores the development of microfluidic electrochemical cells for mimicking drug metabolism.

Structural Characterization and Electrochemical Studies of Selected Alkaloid N-Oxides

“…Moreover, it facilitates the identification of electrochemical reaction products, shedding light on their potential roles as metabolic or degradation by-products. This integrated methodology represents a cornerstone in the fields of metabolomics and bioanalytical chemistry, providing valuable insights into complex biological processes and chemical transformations [28][29][30][31][32]. This study focused on five alkaloids that belong to different chemical groups and serve different purposes.…”

Electrochemical-Based Biosensor Platforms in Lab-Chip Models for Point-of-Need Toxicant Analysis

“…The amalgamation of electrochemical techniques into a lab-on-chip (LOC) environment makes the detection platform more suitable for handling a low volume of reagents, a precise target-bioreceptor interaction, and a rapid analytical response. Articles detailing the basic definitions and principles of electrochemistry, biosensors, microfluidics, and microfluidic electrochemical biosensors for point-of-care diagnostics are available [12][13][14]. A review of different point-of-care diagnostics for infectious diseases and their different governing principles, viz., surface plasmon resonance, chemiluminescence, colorimetric, fluorescence, surfaceenhanced Raman, and magnetic biosensors, in addition to electrochemical bioassays with device applications, exists in [15].…”