A Single Method for 127 Recommended and Additional DUID Drugs in Blood and Urine by LC–MS-MS

Abstract

Driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) cases continue to challenge forensic toxicologists as both the volume and complexity of casework increases. Comprehensive DUID testing should also meet the drafted ASB/ANSI standard and the NSC-ADID recommendations. A simple method using protein precipitation followed by filtration extraction with an 8-minute run time by LC-MS/MS was developed, and a comprehensive ASB/ANSI validation performed. Assessed in blood quantitatively, and urine qualitatively, is 127 target drug and metabolite analytes including cannabinoids (12), amphetamines (11), cocaine and metabolites (6), benzodiazepines (36), Z-drugs (5), opioids (27), anticonvulsants (3), first-generation antihistamines (6), muscle relaxants (2), dissociatives and hallucinogens (6), barbiturates (10), and miscellaneous substances (3). Limits of detection are appropriate for DUID, and other forensic casework such as drug-facilitated crime (DFC) and postmortem investigations. To demonstrate applicability, 78 proficiency test blood and urine samples, and 1,645 blood and urine samples from authentic cases samples demonstrated effective detection of target analytes in forensic casework. By increasing the analytical scope of multiple drug classes via a single method, this technique detects drugs that may have previously gone undetected, such as flualprazolam, etizolam, mitragynine, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, and psilocin, and improves laboratory efficiency by reducing the number of tests required. The described method is, to the authors’ best knowledge, the only published single procedure to meet all drugs listed in the drafted ASB/ANSI standard, and recommended Tier 1 and traditional drugs from Tier 2 for DUID screening, whilst also achieving many drugs recommended for DFC and postmortem testing.

Optimization of a rapid method for screening drugs in blood by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

“…The quadratic regression model was used for all substances, except for metoclopramide, 7-aminoclonazepam and zuclopenthixol, which followed a linear regression model. In line with previous studies [ 8 , 9 ], the acceptance criteria for all calibration lines included a coefficient of determination ( r 2) > 0.99; a coefficient of variation (CV) <±20 % at all data points along the curve; and a calibration curve composed of at least seven points.…”

Development and validation of a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method of a panel of commonly prescribed benzodiazepines in urine samples

“…Farley et al developed a method for the analysis of 127 drugs, including 36 benzodiazepines, in urine and blood samples with an 8-min run time. For benzodiazepines, the widest linear range was 50-2.500 ng/mL, and the LOD was 1-10 ng/mL, but they did not specify LOQ [21].…”

Etizolam and Its Major Metabolites: A Short Review

“…For analysis of solid etizolam samples, including complex mixtures, HPLC-DAD (93), GC-MS, NMR, GC-QTOF (94) and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (95) have been used. For the analysis of etizolam in biological samples, LC-MS/MS (QTRAP) (71,76,86,91,(95)(96)(97), LC-QQQ-MS (98,99), LC-QQ-MS (101), LC-QTOF-MS (86), and GC-QQQ-MS ( 102) have been reported.…”