Defense Date
2024
Document Type
Directed Research Project
First Advisor
Emanuele Alves
Abstract
The opioid epidemic has been ongoing in the United States for many decades, with the most recent wave being led by deaths caused by new synthetic opioids. It is of interest to investigate toxicity of synthetic opioids in animal models, as well as determine if they are stored in alternative matrices such as bone. In this research, an eight-week long animal study was conducted in which White New Zealand rabbits were split into three groups: control, morphine-treated, and fentanyl-treated. Following the treatment period, tissue and bone samples were collected. To evaluate toxicity, relative organ weight was evaluated and oxidative stress assays were conducted on the tissue samples. These assays included the bicinchonic acid (BCA) assay, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay, and glutathione assay. Bone samples were extracted following a previously validated solid phase extraction (SPE) method and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSMS). The relative kidney weight of the fentanyl-treated rabbits was found to be significantly lower than the control rabbits and TBARS assays indicated no signs of lipid peroxidation. Concentrations of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) were found to be significantly higher in the liver of fentanyl treated rabbits compared to control, but no difference was seen in reduced glutathione (GSH) concentrations. In the lung, the GSH/GSSG ratio was determined to be significantly smaller in the fentanyl-treated group than the control. Preliminary bone analysis using GC-MS could not confirm the identity of fentanyl or norfentanyl in the bones and LC-MSMS indicated potential matrix effects.
Rights
© The Author(s)
Is Part Of
VCU Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects
Date of Submission
4-29-2024