Evaluation of amphetamine-type stimulant abuse through hair analysis: Results from 12 years of work

Abstract

Hair analysis is a reliable tool for detecting long-term exposure to illegal drugs, including amphetaminetype stimulants, over periods from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the length of the hair used for analysis. Between 2000 and 2012, over 600 hair samples were analysed at the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Croatia (IMROH) for the presence of amphetamine-type stimulants. IMROH has used the same procedure for testing hair samples for amphetamine-type stimulants for over twelve years. It was found to be reliable for confirming repeated abuse of amphetamine-type stimulants. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to determine amphetamine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA-Ecstasy), and 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA) in hair. Hair samples were either taken at the Institute, delivered by mail or a third person brought them to the laboratory. In most cases, the hair samples were tested anonymously. A total of 23 % of the tested samples were positive for one or more amphetamine-type stimulant. MDMA was the most frequently detected substance, whereas the most frequent combination was amphetamine with MDMA. Our results could indicate a trend in amphetamine-type stimulant abuse among young people in the Republic of Croatia. KEY WORDS: GC/MS; MDMA; methamphetamine; quantitative determinationBrčić Karačonji I and Brajenović N. Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2014;65:225-230 Amphetamine-type stimulants usually refer to s y n t h e t i c s u b s t a n c e s l i k e a m p h e t a m i n e , m e t h a m p h e t a m i n e , 3 , 4 -m e t h y l e n e d i o x ym e t h a m p h e t a m i n e ( M D M A -E c s t a s y ) , 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), and 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA) that act as central nervous system stimulants. According to data provided by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (1), approximately one quarter of Europe's adult population have used an illicit drug at some point in their lives and approximately 3.8 % of all Europeans aged 15-64 have consumed amphetamines at least once in their lifetime (2). A study conducted by the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Science on illicit drug use in the general Croatian population (4,756 respondents) showed that 16 % of adults aged 15-64 reported taking at least one type of drug of abuse in their lifetime (3). Amphetamine-type stimulants are the second most frequently used illicit drugs after cannabis: the lifetime prevalence of taking cannabis in Croatia is 15.6 %, followed by amphetamines (2.6 %) and ecstasy (2.5 %). The main concern is the higher lifetime prevalence (25.7 %) of taking an illegal drug among the 15-34 age group. In the same age group, the lifetime prevalence rate of taking amphetamine-type stimulants was two times higher than among all adults (aged 15-64). Around 23 % of respondents who had taken an amphetaminetype stimulant at least once reported their first experience with these illegal drugs at an age be...

Forensic toxicological analysis of hair: a review

“…The drug is extracted by liquid-liquid extraction using ethyl acetate and derivatized with heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA). The analysis using GC-MS in SIM mode-detected MDMA with LOD 5.0 ng/mg (Karačonji and Brajenović 2014). Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) can also be used for extraction of amphetamine from hair for both the qualitative and the quantitative analysis by GC-MS (Allen and Oliver 2000).…”

Estudos de derivatização direta de anfetaminas no injetor em GC-MS

“…Para os testes com o derivatizante HFBA com os padrões foi selecionado o solvente acetato de etila. (KARAČONJI et al, 2014;KINTZ et al,1997;LEE et al, 2000). Deste modo, primeiramente foram injetadas as soluções de cada um dos padrões analíticos em acetato de etila, na concentração de 2 µg/mL, no modo scan.…”