Urine Mescaline Screening With a Biochip Array Immunoassay and Quantification by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Mescaline, the primary psychoactive chemical in peyote cactus, has been consumed for thousands of years in ancient religious ceremonies. The US military wanted to determine if mescaline intake was a problem for personnel readiness. Twenty thousand seventeen urine specimens negative for cannabinoids, cocaine, opiates, and amphetamines were tested for mescaline with the Randox Drugs of Abuse V (DOA-V) biochip array immunoassay at the manufacturer's recommended cutoff of 6 mcg/L. A sensitive and specific method for mescaline quantification in urine was developed and fully validated. Extracted analytes were derivatized with pentafluoropropionic anhydride and pentafluoropropanol and quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with electron impact ionization. Standard curves, using linear least squares regression with 1/x weighting, were linear from 1 to 250 mcg/L with coefficients of determination >0.994. Intra- and inter-assay imprecision was <4.4 coefficient of variation (%CV), with accuracies >90.4%. Mean extraction efficiencies were >92.0% across the linear range. This fully validated method was applied for the confirmation of urinary mescaline in 526 presumptive-positive specimens and 198 randomly selected presumptive-negative specimens at the manufacturer's 6 mcg/L cutoff. No specimen confirmed positive at the GC/MS limit of quantification of 1 mcg/L. Results indicated that during this time frame, there was insufficient mescaline drug use in the military to warrant routine screening in the drug testing program. However, mescaline stability, although assessed, could have contributed to lower prevalence. We also present a validated GC/MS method for mescaline quantification in urine for reliable confirmation of suspected mescaline intake.

The Bright Side of Psychedelics: Latest Advances and Challenges in Neuropharmacology

“…In rats, mescaline dosages of between 10 and 100 mg/kg have been reported to induce an anxiolytic action, motor hyperactivity, and a propensity for social interaction [ 91 , 93 , 96 , 97 ]. These effects reach their peak around 1 h, last for around 2 h and are dose dependent.…”

“…In humans, mescaline has a mean half-life of approximately 6 h, and its metabolites are excreted in the urine, plasma, and cerebrospinal fluid [ 91 , 98 ]. About 80% is found in human urine 24 h after oral administration of mescaline, and more than 90% within 48 h [ 91 , 96 , 98 ]. Sensory synaesthesia is among the effects reported by subjects receiving mescaline.…”

Evaluation of a Highly Efficient Multidrug Biochip Array Technology for a Simultaneous and High-Throughput Urine Drug Screening in Clinical and Toxicological Settings

“…Solid-state ceramic surface biochip array technology (BAT), as an alternative approach, has recently been developed and used for drug testing. [22][23][24][25][26][27][28] BAT also employs a competitive binding IA; however, the enzyme-labeled polyclonal antibody is immobilized on the biochip's surface. This biochip has been applied to screen multiple novel psychoactive substances (NPS), such as synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, piperazines, and their analogs from a single sampling.…”