Liquid chromatographic method for the determination of enantiomeric composition of amphetamine and methamphetamine in hair samples

Abstract

Interest in hair analysis as an alternative or complementary approach to urinalysis for drug abuse detection has grown in recent years. Hair analysis can be particularly advantageous for drugs such as amphetamine and methamphetamine that are rapidly excreted. Confirmation of abuse of these stimulants is complicated by the fact that some forms are found in legitimate medications. Examination of the enantiomeric composition of amphetamine and methamphetamine in hair samples can provide valuable assistance in interpreting drug testing results. In this work, we developed a liquid chromatographic method for the separation of amphetamine and methamphetamine enantiomers isolated from human hair samples. The drug enantiomers were separated on a chiral stationary phase after derivatization with an achiral fluorescent agent. The methodology was evaluated with a Standard Reference Material that contained several drugs of abuse including amphetamine and methamphetamine.

Chiral Separation of Cathinone and Amphetamine Derivatives by HPLC/UV Using Sulfated ß‐Cyclodextrin as Chiral Mobile Phase Additive

“…In the literature, there are some articles dealing with the determination and chiral separation of cathinone, amphetamine, and related substances by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), capillary electrophoresis (CE), and gas chromatography (GC) …”

New trends in hair analysis and scientific demands on validation and technical notes

“…Enantioselective determination procedures in hair specimens have mainly been described for methadone and its main metabolite [121][122][123] as well as for amphetamine, methamphetamine and designer amphetamines [124][125][126][127][128]. Together with the development of novel enantioselective procedures the enantioselective determination of special analytes in hair specimens opens up the possibility to conduct further research, e.g.…”

Determination of methamphetamine enantiomer composition in human hair by non-chiral liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method

“…Alternative approaches of enantiomer separation were also developed. Methamphetamine derivatization with fluorescent agents followed by enantiomeric separation with chiral [19,20] or achiral [21] liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection provided sensitivity suitable for analysis in hair of abusers. Another viable technique not requiring derivatization utilized beta-cyclodextrin coating to separate the methamphetamine enantiomers by capillary electrophoresis [22,23].…”