In the 20 years, since the introduction of electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), the use of this technique in various fields of inorganic, organometallic, and analytical chemistry has been steadily increasing. In this study, the application of ESI-MS to the study of metal-ligand solution equilibria is reviewed (till 2004 included). In a first section, advantages and drawbacks of ESI-MS in this type of application are described. Subsequently, a list of ca. 300 studies is reported, in which ESI-MS was used to give number and stoichiometry of the species at equilibrium, or also to estimate their stability constants. All studies are classified according to the metal ions under examination. Other related applications, such as host-guest interactions and metal ion-protein binding studies, are briefly reviewed as well.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Objective To evaluate the clinical aspects of hepatitis C virus (HCV) liver disease in anti‐HCV + ve mothers, both during pregnancy and six months after delivery, and to assess the outcome of pregnancy. Setting Obstetric department for high risk pregnancies of the University of Padova, Italy. Participants Seventeen hundred consecutive pregnant women were studied. Methods Each woman underwent the following: 1. serological screening for hepatitis surface antigen (HBsAg), antibodies to HCV (anti‐HCV), antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIVI) within the first trimester of pregnancy; and 2. clinico‐biochemical assessment in order to ascertain previous or active liver disease and risk factors for viral infections. Results Twenty‐nine (1.7%) of the 1700 women were found anti‐HCV positive. Eight of them had an associated positivity for HIV infection. HCV‐RNA was positive in 64.2% of anti‐HCV positive women. Liver function tests (included transaminases) were within the normal range in 27 mothers (both during and six months after delivery). Only 2/29 women had a slight increase in AST/ALT; liver biopsy in these cases was compatible with mild chronic active hepatitis. In all women the outcome of pregnancy was favourable (12/29 anti‐HCV positive mothers underwent caesarean delivery for causes independent from HCV infection). Conclusions A substantial proportion of anti‐HCV positive pregnant mothers, even if asymptomatic, have circulating HCV‐RNA. The pregnancy does not induce a deterioration of liver disease, and vice versa, HCV infection does not increase the risk of obstetric complications.