LC-MS/MS Application in Pharmacotoxicological Field: Current State and New Applications

Abstract

Nowadays, it is vital to have new, complete, and rapid methods to screen and follow pharmacotoxicological and forensic cases. In this context, an important role is undoubtedly played by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) thanks to its advanced features. This instrument configuration can offer comprehensive and complete analysis and is a very potent analytical tool in the hands of analysts for the correct identification and quantification of analytes. The present review paper discusses the applications of LC-MS/MS in pharmacotoxicological cases because it is impossible to ignore the importance of this powerful instrument for the rapid development of pharmacological and forensic advanced research in recent years. On one hand, pharmacology is fundamental for drug monitoring and helping people to find the so-called “personal therapy” or “personalized therapy”. On the other hand, toxicological and forensic LC-MS/MS represents the most critical instrument configuration applied to the screening and research of drugs and illicit drugs, giving critical support to law enforcement. Often the two areas are stackable, and for this reason, many methods include analytes attributable to both fields of application. In this manuscript, drugs and illicit drugs were divided in separate sections, with particular attention paid in the first section to therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and clinical approaches with a focus on central nervous system (CNS). The second section is focused on the methods developed in recent years for the determination of illicit drugs, often in combination with CNS drugs. All references considered herein cover the last 3 years, except for some specific and peculiar applications for which some more dated but still recent articles have been considered.

Relapses in Illicit Drug Use Among Probationers: Results in a Risk Group of Public Health Services in Bavaria

“…In our analyzed samples, we could not ignore the risk of such attempts had occurred, but given its high improbability, we classified it as low. In addition, the biochemical screening’s results are of significant value [ 24 ] as they showed little deviations from the methodically defined reference ranges of the specific spit marker, glucose, and creatinine values in the urine samples [ 19 , 25 , 26 ] within our study population.…”

Xylazine Poisoning in Clinical and Forensic Practice: Analysis Method, Characteristics, Mechanism and Future Challenges

“…The past decade has provided an important impetus for LC-MS/MS technology and research. Due to the rather high selectivity and sensitivity of LC-MS/MS, better performance than other technology and reliable results it is a perfect method that can achieve the goal of various applications [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. LC-MS/MS was successfully applied in pharmacology and toxicology cases and became an important instrument that cannot be ignored [ 25 ].…”

“…Due to the rather high selectivity and sensitivity of LC-MS/MS, better performance than other technology and reliable results it is a perfect method that can achieve the goal of various applications [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. LC-MS/MS was successfully applied in pharmacology and toxicology cases and became an important instrument that cannot be ignored [ 25 ]. For one thing, pharmacology is the basis for drug monitoring and finding the correct treatment strategy for patients.…”

Betäubungsmittelkonsum unter Bewährungs- und Führungsaufsicht – Eine Langzeituntersuchung zum risikogruppenspezifischen Rückfallgeschehen unter Abstinenzauflagen

“…Durch die weitestgehend standardisierte Vorgehensweise beim formalen Ablauf der Urinscreenings durch die Justizbehörden und des Öffentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes als auch durch die hinreichend belegte Aussagekraft der laborchemischen Analysen [34][35][36]…”