A rapid method for the in-field analysis of amphetamines employing the Agilent Bioanalyzer

Abstract

This paper reports the first analysis of small molecules on the Agilent bio-analyser. The Bioanalyzer is a commercial lab-on-a-chip instrument designed for the analysis of DNA and proteins. We demonstrate that the instrument is suitable for analyses beyond its design specifications. Amphetamine, methamphetamine and pseudoephedrine were separated with a 50 mM borate and 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) buffer at pH 9.66. The analytes were derivatised with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) in 3 minutes with a heating block set at 90 C, reducing the typical time of 12 hours required for amine-labelling. Analytes were detected by LED-induced fluorescence (l ex ¼ 525 nm and l em ¼ 470 nm). Furthermore, five amphetamine analogues were baseline separated within 1 minute. An average limit of detection of 0.6 mg mL À1 and limit of quantification of 2.2 mg mL À1were obtained for all analytes. These rapid analyses in conjunction with a fast and reliable derivatisation method with FITC demonstrate its potential use for the in-field analysis of samples of forensic significance.

The application of portable microchip electrophoresis for the screening and comparative analysis of synthetic cathinone seizures

“…This method was extended from our previous publication for the separation of amphetamine-type stimulants using this device [20], to include common synthetic cathinones present in tablets marketed as ecstasy. [14].…”

“…This paper evaluates the use of a ME device, the Agilent Bioanalyzer 2100, for the rapid screening of MEC tablets. The analysis of amphetamine-type stimulants, derivatised by fluorescein isothiocyanate isomer I, has been previously reported by our group [20]. In this study, our previous method was adapted for the analysis of synthetic cathinones commonly encountered in illicit tablet seizures in New Zealand.…”

Potential of Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) and Chip-CE with Dual Detection (Capacitively-Coupled Contactless Conductivity Detection (C4D) and Fluorescence Detection) for Monitoring of Nicotine and Cotinine Derivatization

“…[26][27][28] Agilent Bioanalyzer, a chip-CE instrument, is commercially available and its potential as a generic chip CE platform has been demonstrated when operated in research mode with access to script editor for fully flexible method editing. 29,30 Applications of this approach included profiling 8-aminopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid (APTS) derivatized glycans 28 and in-field analysis of derivatized amphetamines. 30 This work investigated potentials of CE with dual detectors (C 4 D and FD) for monitoring of nicotine and cotinine derivatization with aniline to form fluorescent products.…”

“…29,30 Applications of this approach included profiling 8-aminopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid (APTS) derivatized glycans 28 and in-field analysis of derivatized amphetamines. 30 This work investigated potentials of CE with dual detectors (C 4 D and FD) for monitoring of nicotine and cotinine derivatization with aniline to form fluorescent products. The intermediates were first monitored for 5 -60 min by CE-C 4 D and the fluorescent products were observed by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC)-FD.…”

Rapid Inline Derivatization of Primary and Secondary Amine Containing Drugs by Capillary Electrophoresis with Laser-Induced Fluorescence

“…In the work done by Lloyd et al [47], the Agilent Bioanalyzer lab-on-a-chip system, which was developed for DNA and protein analysis, was used for the analysis of ATS using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) as the label and a borate/SDS buffer. The labeling in this was done prior to injection in foil-lined tubes.…”