Simultaneous determination of morphine, codeine, 6-acetylmorphine, cocaine and benzoylecgonine in hair by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Molecular imaging of humain hair with MeV-SIMS: A case study of cocaine detection and distribution in the hair of a cocaine user

Human hair absorbs numerous biomolecules from the body during its growth. This can act as a fingerprint to determine substance intake of an individual, which can be useful in forensic studies. The cocaine concentration profile along the growth axis of hair indicates the time evolution of the metabolic incorporation of cocaine usage. It could be either assessed by chemical extraction and further analysis of hair bundels, or by direct single hair fibre analysis with mass spectroscopy imaging (MSI). Within this work, we analyzed the cocaine distribution in individual hair samples using MeV-SIMS. Unlike conventional surface analysis methods, we demonstrate high yields of nonfragmented molecular ions from the surface of biological materials, resulting in high chemical sensitivity and non-destructive characterisation. Hair samples were prepared by longitudinally cutting along the axis of growth, leaving half-cylindrical shape to access the interior structure of the hair by the probing ion beam, and attached to the silicon wafer. A focused 5.8 MeV 35Cl6+ beam was scanned across the intact, chemically pristine hair structure. A non-fragmented protonated [M+ H]+ cocaine molecular peak at m/z = 304 was detected and localized along the cross-section of the hair. Its intensity exhibits strong fluctuations along the direction of the hair’s growth, with pronounced peaks as narrow as 50 micrometres, corresponding to a metabolic incorporation time of approx. three hours.

Determination of Drugs of Abuse in Hair by LC-MS/MS: Application to Suicide Attempts Investigation

Considering that the use of psychoactive substances (PS) is a risk factor to either higher intensity or frequency of suicidal behavior, hair analysis was conducted to investigate the most consumed PS (opiates, amphetamine stimulants, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin) in patients who attempted suicide and received urgent care at Emergency Service. Hair samples were extracted using methanol and sonicated under heating, and then analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. During validation, the method complied with international recommended criteria, with limits of detection between 0.0025 and 0.05 ng/mg and linearity between 0.1 to 4 ng/mg for methamphetamine, MDMA, morphine, amphetamine, 6-acetylmorphine, MDA, fenproporex, diethylpropion, codeine; between 0.025 to 1 ng/mg for THC, benzoylecgonine and cocaethylene; and between 0.25 to 10 ng/mg for cocaine and mazindol. A total of 109 hair samples were analyzed and segmented in 404 parts. Among all analyzed samples, 30.3% were positive for at least one PS (n=33), such as: cocaine (90.9%), codeine (12.1%), morphine (3.0 %), MDMA (3.0%) and THC (3.0%). In segmental analysis of cocaine positive samples (n=30), 76.7% of the samples indicated recent exposure to cocaine (<1 month). This same behavior was observed when analyzing codeine (n=4) and morphine (n=1). THC positive samples indicated exposure dated approximately 4 months prior. In conclusion, the method was validated following international recommendations for the twelve most consumed psychoactive substances in Brazil, as well as two of the most common found metabolites.

Using gas-phase chloride attachment for selective detection of morphine in a morphine/codeine mixture by ion mobility spectrometry

RATIONALE

Morphine and codeine are two important compounds of the opiate family that have vast applications in medicine. Several techniques have been reported for the determination of these opiates. Although ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) in positive ion mode can be applied for detection of both morphine and codeine, this technique on its own cannot detect a mixture of these two compounds because of the overlapping of their peaks.

METHODS

An IMS instrument equipped with a corona discharge ion source operating in negative ion mode was used for the detection of anionic clusters of morphine and codeine. In normal negative ion mode, NO_x ^- , CO₃ ^- , and O_n ^- act as the main reactant ions (RIs) which can deprotonate the analytes. We also used chloroform as a dopant to produce Cl^- as an alternative RI.

RESULTS

Morphine has a phenolic and an alcoholic OH group, while codeine bears only an alcoholic OH group. Because the phenolic OH group is more acidic, only morphine is deprotonated in negative ion mode in a morphine/codeine mixture. Furthermore, since morphine has two OH groups that can act as hydrogen-bond donors, it acts as an anion receptor. Hence, in the presence of chloroform where Cl^- acts as the RI, morphine traps the Cl^- anion to form a morphine-Cl^- (Mor.Cl^- ) adduct ion, while because of its structure codeine does not have this capability.

CONCLUSIONS

Using the difference in the structures of morphine and codeine, two ionization methods were proposed for selective detection of morphine. Morphine is more acidic than codeine and has greater anion-receiving capability than codeine. Hence, it can both be deprotonated and form a adduct anion with Cl^- . The Cl^- attachment method is recommended for measurements at ambient temperature.

Determination of ketamine, methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine in human hair by flash evaporation-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive method utilizing flash evaporation-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (FE-GC/MS) has been developed. The method is applicable to determine ketamine (KET), methamphetamine (MAMP) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in human hair. Cut and weighted hair (0.30 mg) was heated at the flash evaporation temperature of 350 °C. KET, MAMP and MDMA were released into a capillary column for GC/MS analysis and produced fragment ions in SIM mode. Validation of the method included evaluation of linearity, sensitivity, accuracy, precision and repeatability. Linearity ranged from 2 to 300 ng/mg for KET in hair and 2 to 200 ng/mg for MAMP and MDMA in hair with the correlation coefficients all greater than 0.998. Limits of detection were 0.7 ng/mg and limits of quantification were 2.0 ng/mg of hair for KET, MAMP and MDMA. The precision ranged from 1.57% to 7.75% for KET, 1.49% to 7.10% for MAMP and 1.84% to 8.31% for MDMA. The recovery ranged from 102.1% to 110.9% for KET, 99.3% to 108.0% for MAMP and 89.5% to 112.6% for MDMA. Six authentic hair samples from known drug abusers and three drug-free hair samples from volunteers who had never used drugs were successfully analyzed. Compared with traditional time-consuming and hair-comsuming pretreatment method, FE-GC/MS was a faster, simpler and low sample consumption method for the determination of KET, MAMP and MDMA in human hair.

Determination of morphine and its metabolites in the biological samples: an updated review

Morphine (MO) as an opioid analgesic is used for the treatment of moderate-to-severe pains, particularly cancer-related pains. Pharmacologic studies on MO are complicated due to drugs binding to the protein or metabolization to active metabolites, and even inter-individual variability. This necessitates the selection of a reliable analytical method for monitoring MO and the concentrations of its metabolites in the biological samples for the pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic investigations. Therefore, this study was conducted to review all the analytical research carried out on MO and its metabolites in the biological samples during 2007-2019 as an update to the study by Bosch et al. (2007).

Variability associated with interpreting drugs within forensic hair analysis: A three-stage interpretation

Hair analysis is capable of determining both an individual's long-term drug history and a single exposure to a drug, which can be particularly important for corroborating incidents of drug-facilitated crimes. As a source of forensic evidence that may be used in a court of law, it must be credible, impartial and reliable, yet the pathways of drug and metabolite entry into hair are still uncertain. Many variables may influence drug analysis results, most of which are outside of the control of an analyst. An individual's pharmacokinetic and metabolic responses, hair growth rates, drug incorporation routes, axial migration, ethnicity, age and gender, for example, all display interpersonal variability. At present there is little standardization of the analytical processes involved with hair analysis. Both false positives and negative results for drugs are frequently encountered, regardless of whether a person has consumed a drug or not. In this regard, we have categorized these variables and proposed a three-stage analytical approach to facilitate forensic toxicologists, hair analysis experts, judiciaries and service users in the analytical and interpretation process.

Optimization of morphine extraction method for the assay of its urinary 3-glucuronideconjuguate by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

In the field of doping, a great interest is carried for the analysis of morphine, a powerful narcotic analgesic opiate which use is prohibited during competitions. In order to confirm the abnormal analytical result in our anti-doping laboratory, a sensitive and selective gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was performed for the quantification of urinary morphine. As sample preparation is a key step for the determination of drugs in biological samples, the aim of this work consists of the optimization of the urinary human sample pretreatment conditions before quantification by GC/MS. Enzymatic hydrolysis associated with liquid-liquid extraction constitute the major pre-treatment steps. Our study has first focused on the optimization of the extraction solvents then to enzymatic hydrolysis which morphine is released from its glucuronide conjugated form. Onboard premiums, a study involving the effect of "amount of enzyme", "incubation temperature" and "duration of hydrolysis" was conducted. This univariate study has enabled us to evaluate the influence of each of these operating variables on the area ratio of morphine to the internal standard (A_morphine/A_IS) response and to set the experimental fields for each one of them. Based on these results, an experimental design was established using the Box-Behnken model to determine, by multivariate analysis, the optimal operating conditions maximizing the "A_mophine/A_IS" response. After validation, the analysis of response surface makes it possible to set the optimum operating conditions, which the ratio "A_morphine/A_IS" is maximized. The retained conditions for enzymatic hydrolysis are 160μl of Escherichia coli glucuronidase enzyme during 6hours of incubation at a temperature of 36°C. The solvent mixture Methyl-t-Butyl Ether/isopropanol (4:1, v/v) was selected since it has improved morphine extraction from the urinary matrix allowing a gain of 50% when compared to that used in our routine laboratory. Our developed extraction method can be successfully applied for our forensic anti-doping analysis of morphin in human sample urine.

Toxicological hair analysis: Pre-analytical, analytical and interpretive aspects

Background and aims Hair analysis for drug detection is one of the widely accepted imperative techniques in the field of forensic toxicology. The current study was designed to investigate the efficacy of chromatography for detection of drugs of abuse in hair. Method A comprehensive review of articles from last two decades on hair analyses via PubMed and similar resources was performed. Issues concerning collection, decontamination and analytical techniques are summarised. Physiochemical nature of hair, mechanism of drug incorporation and its stability in hair are briefly discussed. Furthermore, various factors affecting results and interpretation are elucidated. Result A hair sample is chosen over traditional biological samples such blood, urine, saliva or tissues due to its inimitable ability to provide a longer time frame for drug detection. Its collection is almost non-invasive, less cumbersome and does not involve any specialised training/expertise. Recent advances in analytical technology have resulted in better sensitivity, reproducibility and accuracy, thus providing a new arena of scientific understanding and test interpretation. Conclusion Though recent studies have yielded many insights into drug binding and drug incorporation in hair, the major challenge in hair analysis lies in the interpretation of results, which may be affected by external contamination and thus lead to false-positives. Therefore, there is a need for more sensitive and selective analysis methods to be developed in order to minimise factors that induce the effect of melanin, age and so on, and this would certainly provide a new dimension to hair analysis and its applications.

Preconcentration of codeine in pharmaceutical and human urine samples by multi-walled carbon nanotubes and its spectrophotometric determination

A rapid and efficient solid phase extraction method was established for the preconcentration of codeine prior to its simple determination by spectrophotometry. The extraction process is based on the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) containing –COOH functional groups. These CNTs showed a great affinity for the low quantities of codeine in certain condition. Various extraction factors including buffer type, concentration and its pH, ionic buffer, incubation time, and eluent were optimized to achieve high sensitivity. The calibration graph was linear in the codeine concentration range of 0.001–4 mg·L−1, with a detection limit (3s) of 0.4 μg·L−1. The relative standard deviation (RSD %) for the repetitive determination of 0.01, 0.5, and 2 mg·L−1 codeine (n = 5) were 1.56%, 2.01%, and 1.63%, respectively. Furthermore, comparison with other reported methods showed that the presented method has suitable characteristics. Finally the method was successfully used to accurately determine codeine in pharmaceutical and human urine samples.

Assessing cocaine abuse using LC-MS/MS measurements in biological specimens

Cocaine use is still a problem in today's world, and this has several implications on human activities. Indeed, important problems related to cocaine derive from its use in situations where concentration and focus skills are necessary, namely while driving and/or working. The need of analytical methods for drug analysis in specimens of biological origin for proper documentation of human exposure is increasing. While GC-MS-based procedures represented the state-of-the-art of analytical techniques a few years ago, there is a growing trend for their replacement by LC-MS/MS, which can be justified by the increased sensitivity presented by these new technologies. This paper will review recently published papers on the use of LC-MS/MS-based procedures for cocaine measurement in biological specimens.

(Un)targeted Scanning of Locks of Hair for Drugs of Abuse by Direct Analysis in Real Time-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Forensic hair evidence can be used to obtain retrospective timelines of drug use by analysis of hair segments. However, this is a laborious and time-consuming process, and mass spectrometric (MS) imaging techniques, which show great potential for single-hair targeted analysis, are less useful due to differences in hair growth rate between individual hairs. As an alternative, a fast untargeted analysis method was developed that uses direct analysis in real time-high-resolution mass spectrometry (DART-HRMS) to longitudinally scan intact locks of hair without extensive sample preparation or segmentation. The hair scan method was validated for cocaine against an accredited liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method. The detection limit for cocaine in hair was found to comply with the cutoff value of 0.5 ng/mg recommended by the Society of Hair Testing; that is, the DART hair scan method is amenable to forensic cases. Under DART conditions, no significant thermal degradation of cocaine occurred. The standard DART spot size of 5.1 ± 1.1 mm could be improved to 3.3 ± 1.0 mm, corresponding to approximately 10 days of hair growth, by using a high spatial resolution exit cone. By use of data-dependent product ion scans, multiple drugs of abuse could be detected in a single drug user hair scan with confirmation of identity by both exact mass and MS/HRMS fragmentation patterns. Furthermore, full-scan high-resolution data were retrospectively interrogated versus a list of more than 100 compounds and revealed additional hits and temporal profiles in good correlation with reported drug use.

Efficient solid phase extraction of codeine from human urine samples using a novel magnetic molecularly imprinted nanoadsorbent and its spectrofluorometric determination

From a medical or clinical point of view, to assess toxicity, adverse effects, interactions and therapeutic efficiency, monitoring drug levels in body fluids, such as urine and plasma, has become increasingly necessary.

Recent trends in analytical methods and separation techniques for drugs of abuse in hair

Hair analysis of drugs of abuse has been a subject of growing interest from a clinical, social and forensic perspective for years because of the broad time detection window after intake in comparison to urine and blood analysis. Over the last few years, hair analysis has gained increasing attention and recognition for the retrospective investigation of drug abuse in a wide variety of contexts, shown by the large number of applications developed. This review aims to provide an overview of the state of the art and the latest trends used in the literature from 2005 to the present in the analysis of drugs of abuse in hair, with a special focus on separation analytical techniques and their hyphenation with mass spectrometry detection. The most recently introduced sample preparation techniques are also addressed in this paper. The main strengths and weaknesses of all of these approaches are critically discussed by means of relevant applications.

Role of LC-MS/MS in hair testing for the determination of common drugs of abuse and other psychoactive drugs

Hair testing has been used in toxicological investigations for the last two decades, but only recently a remarkable extension of hair analysis to a variety of application fields was observed, besides drug abuse recognition. The dramatic improvements of LC-MS/MS instrumentation make the detection of tiny amounts of almost whatever drug in hair possible, even after single-dose intake. The progresses observed during the last 5 years in the detection of psychoactive substances in hair are reviewed herein. The literature is partitioned according to the target compounds, namely traditional drugs of abuse, new psychoactive substances and pharmaceutical psychoactive substances. The LC-MS/MS methods presented are addressed to determine a single class of drugs, with the primary aim of accurate quantitation, or to perform multiclass analysis, for rapid and effective screening protocols.

Determination of morphine and codeine in human urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A sensitive and selective gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of morphine and codeine in human urine. The GC-MS conditions were developed. The analysis was carried out on a HP-1MS column (30 m × 0.25 mm, 0.25  μ m) with temperature programming, and Helium was used as the carrier gas with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode was used to quantify morphine and codeine. The derivation solvent, temperature, and time were optimized. A mixed solvent of propionic anhydride and pyridine (5 : 2) was finally used for the derivation at 80°C for 3 min. Linear calibration curves were obtained in the concentration range of 25-2000.0 ng/mL, with a lower limit of quantification of 25 ng/mL. The intra- and interday precision (RSD) values were below 13%, and the accuracy was in the range 87.2-108.5%. This developed method was successfully used for the determination of morphine and codeine in human urine for forensic identification study.

Application of mass spectrometry to hair analysis for forensic toxicological investigations

The increasing role of hair analysis in forensic toxicological investigations principally owes to recent improvements of mass spectrometric instrumentation. Research achievements during the last 6 years in this distinctive application area of analytical toxicology are reviewed. The earlier state of the art of hair analysis was comprehensively covered by a dedicated book (Kintz, 2007a. Analytical and practical aspects of drug testing in hair. Boca Raton: CRC Press and Taylor & Francis, 382 p) that represents key reference of the present overview. Whereas the traditional organization of analytical methods in forensic toxicology divided target substances into quite homogeneous groups of drugs, with similar structures and chemical properties, the current approach often takes advantage of the rapid expansion of multiclass and multiresidue analytical procedures; the latter is made possible by the fast operation and extreme sensitivity of modern mass spectrometers. This change in the strategy of toxicological analysis is reflected in the presentation of the recent literature material, which is mostly based on a fit-for-purpose logic. Thus, general screening of unknown substances is applied in diverse forensic contexts than drugs of abuse testing, and different instrumentation (triple quadrupoles, time-of-flight analyzers, linear and orbital traps) is utilized to optimally cope with the scope. Other key issues of modern toxicology, such as cost reduction and high sample throughput, are discussed with reference to procedural and instrumental alternatives.

Determination of cocaine and metabolites in hair by column-switching LC-MS-MS analysis

A method for rapid, selective, and robust determination of cocaine (CO) and metabolites in 5-mg hair samples was developed and fully validated using a column-switching liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry system (LC-MS-MS). Hair samples were decontaminated, segmented, incubated overnight in diluted HCl, and centrifuged, and the diluted (1:10 with distilled water) extracts were analyzed in positive ionization mode monitoring two reactions per analyte. Quantifier transitions were: m/z 304.2→182.2 for CO, m/z 290.1→168.1 for benzoylecgonine (BE), and m/z 318.2→196.2 for cocaethylene (CE). The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was set at 0.05 ng/mg for CO and CE, and 0.012 ng/mg for BE. Imprecision and inaccuracy at LLOQ were lower than 20 % for all analytes. Linearity ranged between 0.05 and 50.0 ng/mg for CO and CE and 0.012 and 12.50 ng/mg for BE. Selectivity, matrix effect, process efficiency, recovery, carryover, cross talk, and autosampler stability were also evaluated during validation. Eighteen real hair samples and five samples from a commercial proficiency testing program were comparatively examined with the proposed multidimensional chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry procedure and our reference gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. Compared with our reference GC-MS method, column-switching technique and the high sensitivity of the tandem mass spectrometry detection system allowed to significantly reduce sample amount (×10) with increased sensitivity (×2) and sample throughput (×4), to simplify sample preparation, and to avoid that interfering compounds and ions impaired the ionization and detection of the analytes and deteriorate the performance of the ion source.

Simultaneous quantification of morphine and cocaine in hair samples from drug addicts by GC-EI/MS

The development of analytical techniques that enable the use of hair as an alternative matrix for the analysis of drugs of abuse is useful for confirming the exposure in a larger time window (weeks to months, depending on the length of the hair shaft). In the present study a methodology aimed at the simultaneous quantification of cocaine and morphine in human hair was developed and validated. After decontamination, hair samples (20 mg) were incubated with a mixture of methanol/hydrochloric acid (2:1) at 65 °C overnight (~16 h) in order to extract the drugs of the matrix. Purification was performed by solid-phase extraction using mixed-mode extraction cartridges. After derivatization with N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide, blank, standards and samples were analyzed by gas chromatography/electron impact-mass spectrometry (GC-EI/MS). The method proved to be selective, as there were no interferences of endogenous compounds with the same retention time as cocaine, morphine and ethylmorphine (internal standard). The regression analysis for both analytes showed linearity in the range 0.25-10.00 ng/mg with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9989 to 0.9991. The coefficients of variation oscillated between 0.83 and 14.60%. The limits of detection were 0.01 and 0.02 ng/mg, and the limits of quantification were 0.03 and 0.06 ng/mg for cocaine and morphine, respectively. The proposed GC-EI/MS method provided an accurate and simple assay with adequate precision and recovery for the quantification of cocaine and morphine in hair samples. The proof of applicability was performed in hair samples obtained from drug addicts enrolled in a Regional Detoxification Treatment Center. The importance of hair samples is highlighted, since positives results were obtained when urine immunoassay analyses were negative.

Bioanalytical methods for the determination of cocaine and metabolites in human biological samples

Determination of cocaine and its metabolites in biological specimens is of great importance, not only in clinical and forensic toxicology, but also in workplace drug testing. These compounds are normally screened for using sensitive immunological methods. However, screening methods are unspecific and, therefore, the posterior confirmation of presumably positive samples by a specific technique is mandatory. Although GC-MS-based techniques are still the most commonly used for confirmation purposes of cocaine and its metabolites in biological specimens, the advent of LC-MS and LC-MS/MS has enabled the detection of even lower amounts of these drugs, which assumes particular importance when sample volume available is small, as frequently occurs with oral fluid. This paper will review recently-published papers that describe procedures for detection of cocaine and metabolites, not only in the most commonly used specimens, such as blood and urine, but also in other 'alternative' matrices (e.g., oral fluid and hair) with a special focus on sample preparation and chromatographic analysis.

Bioanalytical procedures and recent developments in the determination of opiates/opioids in human biological samples

The use and abuse of illegal drugs affects all modern societies, and therefore the assessment of drug exposure is an important task that needs to be accomplished. For this reason, the reliable determination of these drugs and their metabolites in biological specimens is an issue of utmost relevance for both clinical and forensic toxicology laboratories in their fields of expertise, including in utero drug exposure, driving under the influence of drugs and drug use in workplace scenarios. Most of the confirmatory analyses for abused drugs in biological samples are performed by gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric methods, but use of the more recent and sensitive liquid chromatography-(tandem) mass spectrometry technology is increasing dramatically. This article reviews recently published articles that describe procedures for the detection of opiates in the most commonly used human biological matrices, blood and urine, and also in unconventional ones, e.g. oral fluid, hair, and meconium. Special attention will be paid to sample preparation and chromatographic analysis.

Abnormal nociception and opiate sensitivity of STOP null mice exhibiting elevated levels of the endogenous alkaloid morphine

BACKGROUND

Mice deficient for the stable tubule only peptide (STOP) display altered dopaminergic neurotransmission associated with severe behavioural defects including disorganized locomotor activity. Endogenous morphine, which is present in nervous tissues and synthesized from dopamine, may contribute to these behavioral alterations since it is thought to play a role in normal and pathological neurotransmission.

RESULTS

In this study, we showed that STOP null brain structures, including cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum and spinal cord, contain high endogenous morphine amounts. The presence of elevated levels of morphine was associated with the presence of a higher density of mu opioid receptor with a higher affinity for morphine in STOP null brains. Interestingly, STOP null mice exhibited significantly lower nociceptive thresholds to thermal and mechanical stimulations. They also had abnormal behavioural responses to the administration of exogenous morphine and naloxone. Low dose of morphine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) produced a significant mechanical antinociception in STOP null mice whereas it has no effect on wild-type mice. High concentration of naloxone (1 mg/kg) was pronociceptive for both mice strain, a lower concentration (0.1 mg/kg) was found to increase the mean mechanical nociceptive threshold only in the case of STOP null mice.

CONCLUSIONS

Together, our data show that STOP null mice displayed elevated levels of endogenous morphine, as well as an increase of morphine receptor affinity and density in brain. This was correlated with hypernociception and impaired pharmacological sensitivity to mu opioid receptor ligands.

Analytical methods for abused drugs in hair and their applications

Hair has been focused on for its usability as an alternative biological specimen to blood and urine for determining drugs of abuse in fields such as forensic and toxicological sciences because hair can be used to elucidate the long intake history of abused drugs compared with blood and urine. Hair analysis consists of several pretreatment steps, such as washing out contaminates from hair, extraction of target compounds from hair, and cleanup for instrumental analysis. Each step includes characteristic and independent features for the class of drugs, e.g., stimulants, narcotics, cannabis, and other medicaments. In this review, recently developed methods to determine drugs of abuse are summarized, and the pretreatment steps as well as the sensitivity and applicability are critically discussed.

Quantification of drugs of abuse and some stimulants in hair samples by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry

A qualitative and quantitative method for the analysis of drugs of abuse (cocaine and benzoylecgonine, opiates) and some stimulants in human hair was developed and validated. Hair samples were incubated with phosphate buffer (pH 5.0), chosen as the extraction medium, extracted with Bond Elut Certify cartridges and analyzed by LC-MS-MS and LC-MS(3) as confirmation for positive results. The method proved to be specific, accurate and precise across the calibration range (0.1-30 ng/mg) where good linearity was observed. Total extraction recovery, intra-assay accuracy and precision, limits of detection and limits of quantitation were estimated. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of hair samples collected from drug abusers and it was suitable for routine analytical applications in the Antidoping Laboratory of Public Health Laboratory.