Pressurized-liquid extraction for determination of illicit drugs in hair by LC–MS–MS

Abstract

An LC-MS-MS-based procedure for determination in hair of 14 different drugs of abuse belonging to the classes cocaine, amphetamine-like compounds, opiates, and hallucinogens has been developed. A pressurized-liquid extraction procedure was used and proved useful for quantitative recovery of all the analytes tested. This procedure, in conjunction with a simple decontamination step, performed to avoid false-positive samples, enabled the detection of all the analytes with LOQ ranging from 1.8 to 16 pg mg(-1) and accuracy varying from 85 to 111 %. The procedure was validated in accordance with the SOFT/AAFS guidelines and seems to be suitable for routine determination of the drugs tested in hair.

Multi‐class analysis of new psychoactive substances and metabolites in hair by pressurized liquid extraction coupled to HPLC‐HRMS

“…The suitability of PLE for the extraction of traditional drugs of abuse (cocaine and metabolites, opiates, amphetamines, hallucinogens, and cannabinoids) from the inner hair structure has been reported previously by this research group. The selection of a proper extraction solvent (water methanol mixtures or surfactants) and implementation of PLE followed by SPE clean‐up provided high recoveries with negligible matrix effects for all the tested drugs …”

“…The selection of a proper extraction solvent (water methanol mixtures or surfactants) and implementation of PLE followed by SPE clean-up provided high recoveries with negligible matrix effects for all the tested drugs. [27,29] In the present study, the first experiments were focused on the selection of the optimal incubation temperature under PLE conditions, in order to assess the extent of thermal decomposition of the selected analytes. Tests were carried out at three different temperatures (100°, 125°, 150°C) using H 2 O:MeOH, 90:10 (v/v) as solvent for incubation.…”

Segmental analysis of amphetamines in hair using a sensitive UHPLC‐MS/MS method

“…Using only 10 mg of sample, the sensitivity of this method was equal to previously published LC‐MS/MS methods that included digestion of the hair in sodium hydroxide . The use of UHPLC resulted in a very short 4 min chromatography with good resolution in comparison to normal LC that may need run times up to 20 min …”

“…[30] Using only 10 mg of sample, the sensitivity of this method was equal to previously published LC-MS/MS methods that included digestion of the hair in sodium hydroxide. [29,31] The use of UHPLC resulted in a very short 4 min chromatography with good resolution in comparison to normal LC that may need run times up to 20 min. [29,30] There was no difference in concentrations of AM in hair samples from living or deceased drug users; however, the concentrations in hair collected during investigations of violent crimes seemed lower.…”

Assessing Cocaine Abuse Using LC–MS/MS Measurements in Biological Specimens

“…Using only 0.1 ml of sample, quantitation limits of 15 ng/ml for cocaine and metabolites were obtained, and recoveries were higher than 85% for these compounds. According to the authors, this fully automated procedure allowed reducing the sam- LC-MS/MS (ESI) 10 ng/ml; 5 ng/ml (EME) [52] 2 ng/ml; 8 ng/ml (BE) 10 ng/ml; 8 ng/ml (COC) 2 ng/ml; 8 ng/ml (NCOC) 2 ng/ml; 7 ng/ml (COET) Assessing cocaine abuse using LC-MS/MS measurements in biological specimens Review [73] 0.9 pg/mg; 3.0 pg/mg (NCOC) [63], yet using higher amounts of sample and comparable detection limits. Another interesting approach is the use of molecularly imprinted polymers for the selective analysis of cocaine and metabolites from urine samples [36].…”