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Schüller M, Bergh MSS, Pedersen-Bjergaard S, Øiestad EL. Electromembrane extraction of drugs of abuse and prescription drugs from micropulverized hair. J Anal Toxicol 2024:bkae051. [PMID: 38905017 DOI: 10.1093/jat/bkae051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Hair analysis can provide chronological insights into past drug use for months to years after drug administration. In comparison to analyses from other biological matrices, such as blood and urine, sample pretreatment is often tedious and not environmental friendly. In this study, we present a more environmental friendly approach to hair analysis using micropulverized hair and electromembrane extraction for the efficient extraction of 15 drugs of abuse, prescription drugs, and metabolites from hair. The optimized extraction method, involving micropulverization, demonstrated comparable yields to the standard approach of cutting and overnight incubation. A 15-min extraction method using a commercial electromembrane extraction prototype was developed and validated according to forensic guidelines, using only 10 µl of organic solvent per sample. The final method, employing HPLC-MS-MS with a biphenyl column, exhibited good linearity, precision, and sensitivity. An AgreePrep assessment comparing the environmental impact of our method with the standard routine method, involving overnight incubation and conventional liquid-liquid extraction, was conducted. This is the first time micropulverized hair has been subjected to electromembrane extraction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Schüller
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway
| | - Marianne Skov-Skov Bergh
- Department of Forensic Sciences, Division of Laboratory Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo 0424, Norway
| | - Stig Pedersen-Bjergaard
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Elisabeth Leere Øiestad
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway
- Department of Forensic Sciences, Division of Laboratory Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo 0424, Norway
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Schüller M, Lucic I, Øiestad ÅML, Pedersen-Bjergaard S, Øiestad EL. High-throughput quantification of emerging "nitazene" benzimidazole opioid analogs by microextraction and UHPLC-MS-MS. J Anal Toxicol 2023; 47:787-796. [PMID: 37700512 PMCID: PMC10714918 DOI: 10.1093/jat/bkad071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Benzimidazole opioids, often referred to as nitazenes, represent a subgroup of new psychoactive substances with a recent increase in fatal overdoses in the USA and Europe. With a variety of analogs emerging on the illicit drug market, forensic laboratories are challenged to identify these potent drugs. We here present a simple quantitative approach for the determination of nine nitazene analogs, namely, clonitazene, etodesnitazene, etonitazene, etonitazepyne, flunitazene, isotonitazene, metodesnitazene, metonitazene and protonitazene in whole blood using liquid-phase microextraction and electromembrane extraction in a 96-well format and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Green and efficient sample preparation was accomplished by liquid-phase microextraction in a 96-well format and resulted in high extraction yields for all analytes (>81%). Here, blood diluted with buffer (1:1, %v) was extracted from a donor compartment across a thin organic liquid membrane and into an aqueous acceptor solution. The acceptor solution was collected and directly injected into the analysis platform. Chromatographic separation was accomplished with a biphenyl column, allowing for a baseline separation of the structural isomers isotonitazene and protonitazene before detection by multiple reaction monitoring. Validation was performed according to Scientific Working Group of Forensic Toxicology guidelines. The calibration range was from 0.5 to 50 nM (except for protonitazene and clonitazene from 0.1 nM) with good linearity and limits of detection down to 0.01 nM. An AGREEprep assessment was performed to evaluate sample preparation greenness, with a final score of 0.71. Nitazenes represent a current threat to public health, and analytical methods that cover a wide range of these analogs are limited. Here, the described method may assist in the detection of nitazenes in whole blood and prevent these substances from being missed in postmortem investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Schüller
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1068 Blindern, Oslo 0316, Norway
| | - Ivana Lucic
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1068 Blindern, Oslo 0316, Norway
| | - Åse Marit Leere Øiestad
- Department of Forensic Sciences, Division of Laboratory Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, P.O. Box 4459 Nydalen, Oslo 0424, Norway
| | - Stig Pedersen-Bjergaard
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1068 Blindern, Oslo 0316, Norway
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Elisabeth Leere Øiestad
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1068 Blindern, Oslo 0316, Norway
- Department of Forensic Sciences, Division of Laboratory Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, P.O. Box 4459 Nydalen, Oslo 0424, Norway
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Schüller M, Hansen FA, Pedersen-Bjergaard S. Extraction performance of electromembrane extraction and liquid-phase microextraction in prototype equipment. J Chromatogr A 2023; 1710:464440. [PMID: 37832461 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
In this comparative study, the performance of liquid-phase microextraction and electromembrane extraction in prototype equipment was evaluated for extraction of ninety basic substances from plasma. Using a commercial EME device based on conductive vials enabled a standardized and comprehensive comparison between the two methods. Extractions were performed from a pH-adjusted donor solution, across an organic liquid membrane immobilized in a porous polypropylene membrane, and into an acidic acceptor solution. In LPME, dodecyl acetate was used as the extraction solvent, while 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether was used for EME with an electric field applied across the system. To assess the extraction performance, extraction recovery plots and extraction time curves were constructed and analyzed. These plots provided insights into the efficiency and effectiveness of LPME and EME, allowing users to make better decisions about the most suitable method for a specific bioanalytical application. Both LPME and EME were effective for substances with 2.0 < log P < 4.0, with EME showing faster extraction kinetics. Small (200 µL) and large vials (600 µL) were compared, showing that smaller vials improved kinetics markedly in both techniques. Carrier-mediated extraction showed improved performance for analytes with log P < 2 in EME, however, with some limitations due to system instability. This is, to our knowledge, the first time LPME was performed in the commercial vial-based equipment. An evaluation of vial-based LPME investigating linearity, precision, accuracy, and matrix effects showed promising results. These findings contribute to a general understanding of the performance differences in vial-based LPME and EME.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Schüller
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1068 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway
| | - Frederik André Hansen
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1068 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway
| | - Stig Pedersen-Bjergaard
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1068 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway; Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Dowlatshah S, Hansen FA, Zhou C, Ramos-Payán M, Halvorsen TG, Pedersen-Bjergaard S. Electromembrane extraction of peptides based on hydrogen bond interactions. Anal Chim Acta 2023; 1275:341610. [PMID: 37524472 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2023.341610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Electromembrane extraction (EME) of peptides reported in the scientific literature involve transfer of net positively charged peptides from an aqueous sample, through a liquid membrane, and into an aqueous acceptor solution, under the influence of an electrical field. The liquid membrane comprises an organic solvent, containing an ionic carrier. The purpose of the ionic carrier is to facilitate peptide solvation in the organic solvent based on ionic interactions. Unfortunately, ionic carriers increase the conductivity of the liquid membrane; the current in the system increases, the electrolysis in sample and acceptor is accelerated, and the extraction system tend to be unstable and suffers from drifting pH. RESULTS In the present work, a broad selection of organic solvents were tested as pure liquid membrane for EME of peptides, without ionic carrier. Several phosphates provided high mass transfer, and tri(pentyl) phosphate was selected since this solvent also provided high operational stability. Among 16 different peptides used as model analytes, tri(pentyl) phosphate extracted those with net charge +1 and with no more than two polar side chains. Tri(pentyl) phosphate served as a very strong hydrogen bond acceptor, while the protonated peptides were hydrogen bond donors. By such, hydrogen bonding served as the primary interactions responsible for mass transfer. Tri(pentyl) phosphate as liquid membrane, could exhaustively extract leu-enkephalin, met-enkephalin, and endomorphin from human blood plasma and detected by LC-MS/MS. Calibration curves were linear (r2 > 0.99) within a concentration range from 1 to 500 ng/mL, and a relative standard deviation within 12% was observed for precision studies. SIGNIFICANCE The current experiments are important because they indicate that small peptides of low polarity may be extracted selectively in EME based on hydrogen bond interactions, in systems not suffering from electrolysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samira Dowlatshah
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O Box 1068 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
| | - Frederik André Hansen
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O Box 1068 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
| | - Chen Zhou
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O Box 1068 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway; West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - María Ramos-Payán
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Seville, c/Prof. García González s/n, 41012, Seville, Spain
| | | | - Stig Pedersen-Bjergaard
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O Box 1068 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway; Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Skaalvik TG, Zhou C, Øiestad EL, Hegstad S, Trones R, Pedersen-Bjergaard S. Conductive vial electromembrane extraction of opioids from oral fluid. Anal Bioanal Chem 2023; 415:5323-5335. [PMID: 37386201 PMCID: PMC10444644 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-023-04807-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
The use of oral fluid as sample matrix has gained significance in the analysis of drugs of abuse due to its non-invasive nature. In this study, the 13 opioids morphine, oxycodone, codeine, O-desmethyl tramadol, ethylmorphine, tramadol, pethidine, ketobemidone, buprenorphine, fentanyl, cyclopropylfentanyl, etonitazepyne, and methadone were extracted from oral fluid using electromembrane extraction based on conductive vials prior to analysis with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Oral fluid was collected using Quantisal collection kits. By applying voltage, target analytes were extracted from oral fluid samples diluted with 0.1% formic acid, across a liquid membrane and into a 300 μL 0.1% (v/v) formic acid solution. The liquid membrane comprised 8 μL membrane solvent immobilized in the pores of a flat porous polypropylene membrane. The membrane solvent was a mixture of 6-methylcoumarin, thymol, and 2-nitrophenyloctyl ether. The composition of the membrane solvent was found to be the most important parameter to achieve simultaneous extraction of all target opioids, which had predicted log P values in the range from 0.7 to 5.0. The method was validated in accordance to the guidelines by the European Medical Agency with satisfactory results. Intra- and inter-day precision and bias were within guideline limits of ± 15% for 12 of 13 compounds. Extraction recoveries ranged from 39 to 104% (CV ≤ 23%). Internal standard normalized matrix effects were in the range from 88 to 103% (CV ≤ 5%). Quantitative results of authentic oral fluid samples were in accordance with a routine screening method, and external quality control samples for both hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds were within acceptable limits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tonje Gottenberg Skaalvik
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, St. Olav University Hospital, Professor Brochs Gate 6, 7030, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1068 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
| | - Chen Zhou
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1068 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Elisabeth Leere Øiestad
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1068 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
- Division of Laboratory Medicine, Department of Forensic Sciences, Oslo University Hospital, P.O. Box 4459 Nydalen, 0424, Oslo, Norway
| | - Solfrid Hegstad
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, St. Olav University Hospital, Professor Brochs Gate 6, 7030, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Roger Trones
- Extraction Technologies Norway, Verkstedveien 29, 1424, Ski, Norway
| | - Stig Pedersen-Bjergaard
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1068 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway.
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Schüller M, McQuade TAP, Bergh MSS, Pedersen-Bjergaard S, Øiestad EL. Determination of tryptamine analogs in whole blood by 96-well electromembrane extraction and UHPLC-MS/MS. TALANTA OPEN 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.talo.2022.100171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
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Olędzka I, Plenis A, Kowalski P, Bączek T, Roszkowska A. Analytical aspects of sample handling during the quantification of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in clinical applications. Trends Analyt Chem 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2023.117026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/15/2023]
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Dolatabadi R, Mohammadi A, Walker RB. A novel 3D printed device with conductive elements for electromembrane extraction combined with HPLC and UV detector. J Sep Sci 2022; 45:3187-3196. [PMID: 35762108 DOI: 10.1002/jssc.202200028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
This paper is focused on proposing for a new design and setup for electromembrane extraction. A new cap was designed and conductive vials of different shape were fabricated using three-dimensional printing. The new cap holds three fibers to enhance electromembrane extraction recovery. Conductive vials can simultaneously perform as electrodes therefore, there is no need to include an electrode in sample solutions. Phenobarbital and phenytoin were used as model compounds to assess the setup performance. Under optimal conditions, these analytes were extracted from the sample solution at pH = 9 to the acceptor solution at pH = 13 with a voltage of 40 V for 20 min, while 1-octanol was employed as the supported-liquid-membrane. The influence of conductive vials geometry on the recovery was examined and effects of different shapes were studied by performing numerical simulation to establish electric potential distribution. Of the vials tested with circular, triangular and floral-like cross-sections the latter exhibited the best voltage distribution. The circular vial had the highest recovery attributed to its better hydrodynamic shape, which allows rapid fluid sample transport and therefore enhanced system recovery. The extraction recovery and RSD of circular vial with three fibers was 33.0 and 7.6 for phenobarbital and 42.2 and 10.4 for phenytoin. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roshanak Dolatabadi
- Department of Drug and Food Control, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Mohammadi
- Department of Drug and Food Control, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Roderick B Walker
- Division of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Rhodes University, Makhanda 6140, Eastern Cape, South Africa
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