1
|
Xie W, Zhou L, Liu J, Li Z, Li Z, Gao W, Shi Y. How to trace etomidate in illegal E-cigarettes from authentic human hair: identification, quantification and multiple-factor analysis. Forensic Toxicol 2024:10.1007/s11419-024-00698-w. [PMID: 39122972 DOI: 10.1007/s11419-024-00698-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE The abusive consumption of illegal E-cigarettes containing etomidate (ET) can have a significant impact on public mental and physical well-being. The purpose of this study is to establish a rapid quantitative method using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) for the targeted screening of etomidate (ET) and its metabolite etomidate acid (ETA) in hair samples. METHODS A 1 mL methanol solution containing the internal standard ET-d5 at a concentration of 50 pg/mg was added to 20 mg of hair and milled below 4 °C. After centrifugation, 5 μL of the supernatant was injected into a UHPLC-MS/MS system. RESULTS The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were determined to be 1 pg/mg and 10 pg/mg, respectively, for ET, and 10 pg/mg and 25 pg/mg, respectively, for ETA. Calibration curves for all analytes showed good linearity (r > 0.997), indicating a reliable method. Accuracies were between 92.12% and 110.72%. Intra-day and inter-day precision for all analytes at all concentration levels were below 10.13%. Analyte recoveries ranged from 86.90% to 101.43%, with a matrix effect ranging from -18.55% to -14.93%. CONCLUSIONS The validated method was successfully used to analyze 105 hair samples from suspected ET users. Of these, 50 tested positive for ET and 43 tested positive for ETA above the LOQ. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the developed UHPLC-MS/MS method in detecting ET and ETA in hair samples, which could be instrumental in addressing the issue of illegal E-cigarette abuse and its impact on public health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wanting Xie
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Science Platform, Key Laboratory of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai, 200063, People's Republic of China
- China National Narcotics Control Commission-ChinaPharmaceutical University JointLaboratory On Key Technologies of Narcotics Control, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, People's Republic of China
| | - Liying Zhou
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Science Platform, Key Laboratory of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai, 200063, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinting Liu
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Science Platform, Key Laboratory of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai, 200063, People's Republic of China
| | - Ziyi Li
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Science Platform, Key Laboratory of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai, 200063, People's Republic of China
- China National Narcotics Control Commission-ChinaPharmaceutical University JointLaboratory On Key Technologies of Narcotics Control, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, People's Republic of China
| | - Zehong Li
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Science Platform, Key Laboratory of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai, 200063, People's Republic of China
- China National Narcotics Control Commission-ChinaPharmaceutical University JointLaboratory On Key Technologies of Narcotics Control, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, People's Republic of China
| | - Wen Gao
- China National Narcotics Control Commission-ChinaPharmaceutical University JointLaboratory On Key Technologies of Narcotics Control, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yan Shi
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Science Platform, Key Laboratory of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai, 200063, People's Republic of China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Xu D, Ji J, Xiang P, Yan H, Shen M. Two DFSA cases involving midazolam clarified by the micro-segmental hair analyses. Forensic Toxicol 2022; 40:374-382. [PMID: 36454413 DOI: 10.1007/s11419-022-00621-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE In this study, an analytical procedure to identify trace amounts of drug in hair based on micro-segmental hair analysis was presented. The method also can be used to estimate the time of drug ingestion at daily precision by cutting a single hair into sub-millimeter segments which correspond to daily hair growth. METHODS A method was established for efficient extraction of midazolam, one of the most frequently detected compound in drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) cases, from each 0.4-mm hair segment and validated by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Moreover, two DFSA cases were used to compare the micro-segmental hair analysis with the 1- cm segmental analysis method. RESULTS The validation showed a lower limit of quantification of 0.5 pg/mm for midazolam, with intraday and interday accuracies (bias) from - 5.2 to 0.9%. The micro-segmental hair analysis method was applied to proximal 1-cm hair segment including hair bulbs in two DFSA cases. The micro-segmental hair analysis results in case 1 showed midazolam in the S15-S17 (5.6-6.8 mm from hair bulb) in a concentration range from 0.5 to 0.9 pg/mm, and the concentrations of midazolam in all hair micro-segments (0-1 cm from the scalp) in case 2 were from 0.5 to 2.0 pg/mm. CONCLUSIONS Comparison with the conventional method revealed that micro-segmental hair analysis may enhance the utility of hair drug testing and strengthen probative force in DFSA cases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Duoqi Xu
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai, 200063, China
| | - Jiaojiao Ji
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai, 200063, China.,Department of Forensic Medicine of Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 138 Medical College Road, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Ping Xiang
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai, 200063, China
| | - Hui Yan
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai, 200063, China
| | - Min Shen
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai, 200063, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Abstract
Hair analysis has been mainly used to document drug use history in abusers, drug-facilitated crime cases, doping control analysis and postmortem toxicology in the fields of forensic toxicology, clinical toxicology, and doping control. Hair analysis has also gained more attention in the last 30 years in China. Relevant technology has been promoted as more research has appeared concerning hair analysis, and consensus has been sought among forensic toxicologists regarding aspects such as hair decontamination treatment, detection of abused substances in hair, segmental hair analysis and interpretation of analytical results. However, there are still some limitations in the estimation of drug intake time and frequency by segmental hair analysis due to the different growth cycles evident within a bundle of hairs, the drug incorporation mechanism and sampling errors. Microsampling and imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) technology based on a single hair may be a good choice to estimate drug intake time more accurately. Analysis of hair root samples may also be used to document acute poisoning in postmortem toxicology, and the analysis of the hair shaft can document long-term use of drugs depending on the length of the hair being evaluated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hui Yan
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Ping Xiang
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Min Shen
- Department of Forensic Toxicology, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai, China
| |
Collapse
|