Determination of Illicit Drugs in Urine and Plasma by Micro-SPE Followed by HPLC–MS/MS

Abstract

Confirmation of identity of forensically relevant compounds, such as drugs of abuse, is a necessary step in medico-legal event controls of people involved in crimes, workplace accidents and driving under the influence of drugs (DUID). Plasma is a useful medium in determining the short-term use of illicit drugs and its analysis is mandatory in the case of DUID in many countries. Urine has been the sample of choice for monitoring drug abuses in workplaces and is subjective to strict regulations. The aim of this work was the development of a fast and reliable confirmatory method for the determination of multiple drugs of abuse belonging to different chemical and toxicological classes: amphetamine, methamphetamine, methylenedioxyamphetamine, methylenedioxyethylamphetamine, methylenedioxymethylamphetamine, cocaine, benzoylecgonine, ketamine, phencyclidine, psilocybin and mescaline. The procedure involves very rapid steps of sample preparation with use of automated micro-SPE. The quantitative analysis is performed by LC-ESI-MS/MS with chromatographic Core Shell (TM) column. The method has been fully validated according to SOFT-AAFS guidelines and applied as confirmatory analysis for real samples coming from agro-industry employees.[...

Analysis of drugs of abuse in human plasma by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography

“…Precision was determined at three different drug concentration levels in plasma (0.1, 0.5 and 5 μg ml -1 ), and the coefficients of variation were acceptable (Table 2). Napoletano et al (2012) obtained similar results, and other authors (Bassan et al, 2011;Dowling & Regan, 2011;Ramírez Fernández et al, 2013) also using LC-MS/MS for determinations reported higher precision values.…”

“…Napoletano et al . () obtained similar results, and other authors (Bassan et al ., ; Dowling & Regan, ; Ramírez Fernández et al , ) also using LC‐MS/MS for determinations reported higher precision values.…”

Microextraction Techniques in Illicit Drug Testing: Present and Future

“…MEPS and μ-SPE have been less used, however both the techniques were shown to be suitable for multiclass analytes determination in plasma, saliva and urine by LC-MS/MS [12,13], with a few simple steps obtaining optimal recoveries and great matrix effect reduction. DPX was also described in the 96-well plates format for high-throughput cleanup [14].…”

Analysis of new psychoactive substances in oral fluids by means of microextraction by packed sorbent followed by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

“…In addition to the serious risks to individuals using these substances, they may also present a threat to non‐users who are potentially in contact with users, for example, during driving or in the workplace. Evidence suggests that driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is a risk factor and the cause of the recent increase in road accidents …”

“…Evidence suggests that driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is a risk factor and the cause of the recent increase in road accidents. [5][6][7] Generally, screening tests are rapid, sensitive, and inexpensive; however, they lack high selectivity and may be subject to a false positive result due to cross-reactivity with other non-targeted drugs of similar chemical structure. 8 Any specimen, which has been presumptively screened positive, should be subject to confirmatory testing to eliminate false-positive results.…”