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Stelmaszczyk P, Białkowska K, Wietecha-Posłuszny R. Paper-supported polystyrene membranes for micro-solid phase extraction of date-rape drugs from urine: A sustainable analytical approach. Anal Chim Acta 2024; 1316:342874. [PMID: 38969415 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.342874] [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: 02/06/2024] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The rapid development of micro-solid phase extraction (μ-SPE) procedures with new sorption materials, in particular, based on using natural materials, is currently reported. The production of these sorbents and the entire extraction procedure should support the implementation of Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) principles. Promising materials are sorbents based on paper, which can be relatively easily modified, among others: by covering it with a polymer membrane. In this work, the practical application of paper-supported polystyrene used in the analysis of urine samples containing selected date-rape drugs (DRD) substances, and evaluation of the entire procedure using GAC metrics is presented. RESULTS The paper-supported polystyrene membranes were successfully fabricated and characterized. The successful polystyrene coating on the paper was confirmed through ATR-FTIR measurements, ensuring even coverage. The μ-SPE procedure using this material facilitated extraction with a throughput of approximately 120 samples per hour in just a few steps. Throughout the research, a mixture of 100 mM acetic acid:methanol:acetonitrile (70:15:15, v/v/v) was selected as an optimal background electrolyte for capillary electrophoresis - mass spectrometry analysis. Validation results of this method demonstrated its suitability, exhibiting good linearity (R2 > 0.95), low limits of detection (3.1-15 ng mL-1), acceptable precision (<15 %), and recovery for all tested analytes. Furthermore, the greenness evaluation conducted with six different metrics: AGREEprep, AGREE, ComplexGAPI, SPMS, hexagonal metric, and WAC indicated the overall eco-friendliness and sustainability of the method, with minor concerns regarding energy consumption. SIGNIFICANCE The use of cellulose paper with polystyrene membranes for μ-SPE provides a versatile and eco-friendly extraction method for detecting DRDs in urine samples. The presented work is an example of the use of GAC metrics in the evaluation of the analytical procedure. The optimized PT-μ-SPE/CE-MS method allows for minimized reagent usage and waste production. Moreover, the method proves to be sustainable and efficient for forensic toxicology analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paweł Stelmaszczyk
- Laboratory for Forensic Chemistry, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Gronostajowa St. 2, 30-387, Kraków, Poland; Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Białkowska
- Laboratory for Forensic Chemistry, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Gronostajowa St. 2, 30-387, Kraków, Poland
| | - Renata Wietecha-Posłuszny
- Laboratory for Forensic Chemistry, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Gronostajowa St. 2, 30-387, Kraków, Poland.
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Berardinelli D, Taoussi O, Carlier J, Tini A, Zaami S, Sundermann T, Busardò FP, Auwärter V. In vitro, in vivo metabolism and quantification of the novel synthetic opioid N-piperidinyl etonitazene (etonitazepipne). Clin Chem Lab Med 2024; 62:1580-1590. [PMID: 38311816 DOI: 10.1515/cclm-2023-1360] [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: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES N-piperidinyl etonitazene (etonitazepipne) is a newly synthesized opioid related to the 2-benzylbenzimidazole analog class. Etonitazepipne has been formally notified and placed under intensive monitoring in Europe in January 2022. Nitazenes have high affinity at µ-opioid receptor (MOR). Etonitazepipne, specifically shows a EC50 of 2.49 nM, suggesting about 50 times higher potency combined with higher efficacy compared to morphine. Antinociceptive potency l ('hot plate test' with rats) was 192-fold greater than that of morphine. METHODS Here we report on a post-mortem case involving etonitazepipne and its quantification using a standard addition method (SAM) through liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In addition, characterization and identification of phase I human metabolites using in vitro assay based on pooled human liver microsomes (pHLM) was performed along with the analysis of authentic urine samples by means of high-performance liquid chromatography high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS). RESULTS The concentration of etonitazepipne in post-mortem blood and urine was 8.3 and 11 ng/mL, respectively. SAM was validated by assessing the following parameters: intraday and interday repeatability, matrix effect and recovery rate in post-mortem blood. A total of 20 and 14 metabolites were identified after pHLM incubation and urine analysis, respectively. Most pronounced in vitro and in vivo transformations were O-deethylation, hydroxylation, ketone reduction, and combinations thereof. CONCLUSIONS Considering small traces of the parent drug often found in real cases, the identification of metabolic biomarkers is crucial to identify exposure to this drug. O-deethylated, oxidated metabolites, and combination thereof are proposed as urinary biomarkers along with the parent compound.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diletta Berardinelli
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy
- Forensic Toxicology, Institute for Legal Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Omayema Taoussi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy
| | - Jeremy Carlier
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy
| | - Anastasio Tini
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy
| | - Simona Zaami
- Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopaedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Tom Sundermann
- Institute of Forensic and Traffic Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Francesco Paolo Busardò
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy
| | - Volker Auwärter
- Forensic Toxicology, Institute for Legal Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Balkrishna A, Verma S, Priya Rani M, Nain P, Varshney A. Exploring the potential of Mustard (Brassica spp.) seeds through 'Kolhu' traditional method of extraction and novel identification of an anti-cancer dipeptide, Aurantiamide acetate (Asperglaucide) on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight (UPLC/MS-QToF) analytical platform. Food Chem 2024; 446:138870. [PMID: 38430771 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138870] [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: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Mustard (Brassica spp.) is one of the world's oldest condiments in the food basket, which holds a significant place in the global culinary landscape due to historical prominence and perceived health benefits. This study explores the extraction of oils from Mustard seeds by employing traditional 'Kolhu' method, modern supercritical fluid, and solvent extraction techniques. This study, for the first-time, identified Aurantiamide acetate, a potent anti-cancer dipeptide in Mustard seeds using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight (UPLC/MS-QToF) analytical platform. The analytical methodology was meticulously validated encompassing optimal parameters such as limit of detection, limit of quantification, precision, accuracy, linearity and robustness, within the range. Interestingly, 'Kolhu' method of oil extraction exhibited better yield of Aurantiamide acetate, suggesting superior efficiency of traditional methods. This study accentuates the importance of classical extraction methods, used traditionally, and emphasizes that naturally occurring substances indeed could be harnessed for better health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Acharya Balkrishna
- Drug Discovery and Development Division, Patanjali Research Foundation, Governed by Patanjali Research Foundation (Trust), NH-58, Haridwar 249 405, Uttarakhand, India; Department of Allied and Applied Sciences, University of Patanjali, Patanjali Yog Peeth, Roorkee, Haridwar Road, Haridwar 249 405, Uttarakhand, India; Patanjali Yog Peeth (UK) Trust, 40 Lambhill Street, Kinning Park, Glasgow G411AU, UK
| | - Sudeep Verma
- Drug Discovery and Development Division, Patanjali Research Foundation, Governed by Patanjali Research Foundation (Trust), NH-58, Haridwar 249 405, Uttarakhand, India
| | - M Priya Rani
- Drug Discovery and Development Division, Patanjali Research Foundation, Governed by Patanjali Research Foundation (Trust), NH-58, Haridwar 249 405, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Pardeep Nain
- Drug Discovery and Development Division, Patanjali Research Foundation, Governed by Patanjali Research Foundation (Trust), NH-58, Haridwar 249 405, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Anurag Varshney
- Drug Discovery and Development Division, Patanjali Research Foundation, Governed by Patanjali Research Foundation (Trust), NH-58, Haridwar 249 405, Uttarakhand, India; Department of Allied and Applied Sciences, University of Patanjali, Patanjali Yog Peeth, Roorkee, Haridwar Road, Haridwar 249 405, Uttarakhand, India; Special Centre for Systems Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110 067, India.
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Bauer AE, Jakobsdottir MR, Olafsdottir K. Enantiomeric profile of amphetamines in seized drug samples and in blood of impaired drivers in Iceland: The rise of (R)-methamphetamine? J Anal Toxicol 2024; 48:456-462. [PMID: 38753345 DOI: 10.1093/jat/bkae039] [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: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Amphetamine (AMP) and methamphetamine (METH) use is increasing globally. Illegal AMP is generally a racemic mixture, whereas AMP-containing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder drugs prescribed in Iceland consist of S-AMP. AMP is also a main metabolite of interest after METH intake. Distinguishing between legal and illegal AMP intake is vital in forensic toxicology. A chiral UPLC-MS-MS method was used to determine the enantiomeric profile of AMP and METH in circulation in Iceland by analysing blood samples from drivers suspected of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) and seized drug samples from 2021 and 2022. All seized AMP samples (n = 48) were racemic, whereas all but one seized METH sample (n = 26) were enantiopure. Surprisingly, a large portion of the enantiopure METH samples was R-METH. DUID blood samples positive for AMP (n = 564) had a median blood concentration of 180 ng/mL (range 20-2770 ng/mL) and a median enantiomeric fraction (EFR) of 0.54 (range 0-0.73), whereas samples positive for METH (n = 236) had a median blood concentration of 185 ng/mL (range 20-2300 ng/mL) and a median EFR of 0.23 (range 0-1). The findings of this study show a significantly lower blood concentration in drivers with only S-AMP detected compared with when the R-isomer is also detected. No significant difference in blood concentration was detected between the sample groups containing S-METH, R-METH or both enantiomers. The occurrence of R-METH in both seized drug samples and DUID cases indicates a change in drug supply and a need for better scientific knowledge on R-METH abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam E Bauer
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Iceland, Hofsvallagata 53, Reykjavik 107, Iceland
| | - Margret R Jakobsdottir
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Iceland, Hofsvallagata 53, Reykjavik 107, Iceland
| | - Kristin Olafsdottir
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Iceland, Hofsvallagata 53, Reykjavik 107, Iceland
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Li Z, Li Z, Xu Q, Zhao L, Li B, Liu W, Shi Y. Acoustic ejection tandem mass spectrometry for high-throughput screening of phencyclidine-type substances in urine, including authentic cases. Anal Chim Acta 2024; 1312:342751. [PMID: 38834265 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.342751] [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: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The abuse of the Phencyclidine-type substances, especially ketamine is a serious problem worldwide, and retrospective analysis are important for both the analysis and the identification of forms of drug abuse. The current major analytical methods, while all excellent in terms of accuracy, are time- and reagent-consuming. This depletion is made even more unfortunate by the fact that a large number of samples are negative in retrospective analyses. It is clear that a set of methods that can be analyzed both accurately and quickly need to be developed and applied to the screening and analysis of large quantities of samples. RESULTS We described a urine test based on acoustic ejection mass spectrometry, which allows precise injection at very low volumes and near 1 ejection s-1 and data acquisition. The confidence in identification was increased by the characterization of the abundance ratio of the two pairs of ions. Urine samples could be diluted with water and loaded into a 384-well plate for sampling without complicated sample preparation. The sample in the transparent 384-well plate was pre-scanned by the laser, and then 20 nL droplets were ejected into the ion source for targeted analysis of 2 ion transitions per droplet totaling 9 targeted analytes in the sequence of acquisition methods. It took 90 min to screen 250 samples in this approach, yielding 10 ng mL-1 detection limits. Positive samples were further analyzed by UHPLC-MS/MS for confirmation and quantification of up to 36 analytes. SIGNIFICANCE This was the first fast screening method for phencyclidine-type substances based on acoustic ejection mass spectrometry, which greatly reduces the analytical time, and can accomplish in 1.5 h what UHPLC-MS/MS needs 3 days to complete. And the samples can be analyzed without complicated sample preparation, and also can obtain good detectability. It was applied to a short-term retrospective analysis in Shanghai, and its accuracy was also extremely high.
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Affiliation(s)
- 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, PR China; School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, PR 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, PR China; School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, PR China
| | - Qing Xu
- 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, PR China; School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, PR China
| | - Liuqing Zhao
- SCIEX Analytical Instrument Trading Co., Ltd, Shanghai, 200335, PR China
| | - Bo Li
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, PR China
| | - Wei 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, PR 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, PR China.
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Zhu X. A linear validation method of analytical procedures based on the double logarithm function linear fitting. Anal Chim Acta 2024; 1310:342695. [PMID: 38811139 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.342695] [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: 09/17/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ICH Q2(R1) guideline defines linearity as its ability to obtain test results which are directly proportional to the concentration of the analyte. However, the coefficient of determination typically used is limited to evaluating the response function rather than the linearity of results, the current guidelines fail to provide a method for assessing the linearity of results. RESULTS The paper presents a data analysis method to validate the linearity of results. The method demonstrates the degree of data proportionality by applying double logarithm function linear fitting and solves the problem of setting the acceptance criterion by investigating the relationship between the slope, working range ratio, and maximum error ratio. In principle, this method has advantages over the coefficient of variation and recovery rate recommended by the ICH M10 guideline. Moreover, the relative error data show that the double logarithm function is more effective in overcoming heteroscedasticity than straight-line fitting. SIGNIFICANCE This method is more consistent with the linear definition outlined in ICH Q2 guidelines and has the potential to further clarify the concept and validation method of linearity in the future.
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Jang M, Lee M, Chung S, Park SA, Park H, Jeon H, Jegal J, Park SB, Oh DX, Shin G, Kim HJ. Ecotoxicity assessment of additives in commercial biodegradable plastic products: Implications for sustainability and environmental risk. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 931:172903. [PMID: 38697526 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Biodegradable plastics have gained popularity as environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics, which face recycling and degradation challenges. Although the biodegradability of these plastics has been established, research on their ecotoxicity remains limited. Biodegradable plastics may still contain conventional additives, including toxic and non-degradable substances, to maintain their functionality during production and processing. Despite degrading the polymer matrix, these additives can persist in the environment and potentially harm ecosystems and humans. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the potential ecotoxicity of biodegradable plastics by analyzing the phthalate esters (PAEs) leaching out from biodegradable plastics through soil leachate. Sixteen commercial biodegradable plastic products were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to determine the types and amounts of PAE used in the products and evaluate their ecotoxicity. Among the various PAEs analyzed, non-regulated dioctyl isophthalate (DOIP) was the most frequently detected (ranging from 40 to 212 μg g-1). Although the DOIP is considered one of PAE alternatives, the detected amount of it revealed evident ecotoxicity, especially in the aquatic environment. Other additives, including antioxidants, lubricants, surfactants, slip agents, and adhesives, were also qualitatively detected in commercial products. This is the first study to quantify the amounts of PAEs leached from biodegradable plastics through water mimicking PAE leaching out from biodegradable plastics to soil leachate when landfilled and evaluate their potential ecotoxicity. Despite their potential toxicity, commercial biodegradable plastics are currently marketed and promoted as environmentally friendly materials, which could lead to indiscriminate public consumption. Therefore, in addition to improving biodegradable plastics, developing eco-friendly additives is significant. Future studies should investigate the leaching kinetics in soil leachate over time and toxicity of biodegradable plastics after landfill disposal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Jang
- Research Center for Bio-Based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan 44429, Republic of Korea
| | - Minkyung Lee
- Research Center for Bio-Based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan 44429, Republic of Korea
| | - Seonghyn Chung
- Research Center for Bio-Based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan 44429, Republic of Korea; Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Seul-A Park
- Research Center for Bio-Based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan 44429, Republic of Korea
| | - Huijeong Park
- Research Center for Bio-Based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan 44429, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyeonyeol Jeon
- Research Center for Bio-Based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan 44429, Republic of Korea; Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Jonggeon Jegal
- Research Center for Bio-Based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan 44429, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung Bae Park
- Research Center for Bio-Based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan 44429, Republic of Korea
| | - Dongyeop X Oh
- Research Center for Bio-Based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan 44429, Republic of Korea; Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and Program in Environmental and Polymer Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Republic of Korea
| | - Giyoung Shin
- Research Center for Bio-Based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan 44429, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyo Jeong Kim
- Research Center for Bio-Based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan 44429, Republic of Korea.
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Rotolo MC, Graziano S, Varì MR, Minutillo A, Di Giorgi A, Aquilina V, Pichini S, Marchei E. NPS-EQA PART II: Four years' experience in external quality assessment program in Italy for classical and new psychoactive substances analysis in hair. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2024; 243:116100. [PMID: 38513500 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2024.116100] [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: 02/06/2024] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
In 2019, the Italian National Institute of Health established an external quality assessment (EQA) program to evaluate the performance of laboratories of collaborative centres participating in the National Early Warning System in hair testing for classical and new psychoactive substances (NPS). The results obtained in the four rounds (2019-2023) and the evolution in hair testing performance for classic drugs of abuse and new psychoactive substances are presented. A total of 11 hair specimens, including 3 blank samples, were prepared by adding different classes of classical and NPS at known concentrations to pre-screened drug-free hair. False negative and false positive results were calculated for the qualitative data evaluation. The quantitative evaluation included the imprecision (as % coefficient of variation, CV%) and the accuracy (as % error, ERR%) of the results with respect to a mean value obtained by reference laboratories and Z-score values were assessed. Over the years, an improvement in false negative results (from 52.4% in the first year to 34.3% in the last one) and false positive results (from 55.0% in the first year to 30.8.% in the last one) was observed. In the first round, the mean ERR% ranged from 6.2% to 112.8% due to NPS determination. However, in the subsequent three rounds, the mean ERR% ranged from 10.4% to 22.4%, The mean CV% in the four rounds was approximately 41.5% (ranging from 44.3% to 53.3%). Between 12.0% and 56.6% of the reported results in all rounds should be considered satisfactory. EQA programs help laboratories to identify and correct problems within their processes by highlighting errors and variations. This ensures that the results produced are accurate and reproducible.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Silvia Graziano
- National Centre on Addiction and Doping, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Rosaria Varì
- National Centre on Addiction and Doping, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Adele Minutillo
- National Centre on Addiction and Doping, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandro Di Giorgi
- Department of Biomedical Science and Public Health, University Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Valeria Aquilina
- Investigation, Crime and International Security, Università degli Studi Internazionali di Roma - UNINT, Rome, Italy
| | - Simona Pichini
- National Centre on Addiction and Doping, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
| | - Emilia Marchei
- National Centre on Addiction and Doping, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
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Guterstam J, Tavic C, Barosso M, Beck O. A multicomponent LC-MS/MS method for drugs of abuse testing using volumetric DBS and a clinical evaluation by comparison with urine. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2024; 243:116075. [PMID: 38457867 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2024.116075] [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: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 02/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Drug testing commonly use urine as a specimen and immunoassays for screening. The need for supervised urine collection has led to an interest in alternative specimens and a need for using mass spectrometry methods already for screening. In addition, mass spectrometry methods allow for broad multipanel screening which of great value because of the increased number of substances that needs to be covered has increased over time. One alternative specimen of interest for drugs of abuse testing is dried blood spots (DBS) and this work aimed at developing multipanel screening methods based on selected reaction monitoring liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry for both urine and dried finger blood as specimens. MATERIALS AND METHODS The urine method comprised 37 analytes and utilised salted out liquid/liquid extraction in 96-well format, respectively, and the blood method comprised 35 analytes, a 10 µL volumetric DBS device and a two-step solvent extraction procedure. In both cases stable isotope labelled internal standards were used for almost all analytes. RESULTS The methods were validated according to forensic standard. The lowest reporting limits were generally set at 100 ng/mL for urine and 1 ng/mL for blood and the accuracy and imprecision were within limits of 15 and 20%. The methods were applied in a clinical study on patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment for opioid dependence. Methadone was detected in all urine and DBS samples, for urine sometimes below the commonly applied screening cutoff limit of 300 ng/mL. In 20 out of 99 cases no other drug was detected in any specimen. The most commonly other detected substances were pregabalin, amphetamine, alprazolam, zopiclone and THCCOOH. Findings in urine and DBS generally agreed well but more positives were detected in DBS. CONCLUSION Multipanel methods using liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry suitable for clinical drug screening were successfully developed for urine and blood collected by finger-pricking and stored as DBS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joar Guterstam
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | - Olof Beck
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden; ABCLabs AB, Solna, Sweden.
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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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Nemeškalová A, Konvalinková J, Vágnerová M, Kuchař M, Buček J, Vrkoslav V, Sýkora D, Cvačka J, Volny M. Ambient ionization mass spectrometry provides screening of selective androgen receptor modulators. Talanta 2024; 277:126358. [PMID: 38879944 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2024.126358] [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: 03/08/2024] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
Ambient ionization mass spectrometry allows for analysis of samples in their natural state, i.e., with no sample pre-treatment. It can be viewed as a fast, simple, and economical analysis, but its main disadvantages include a lower analytical performance due to the presence of complex sample matrix and the lack of chromatographic separation prior to the introduction of the sample into the mass spectrometer. Here we present an application of two ambient ionization mass spectrometry techniques, i.e., Desorption Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization and Dielectric Barrier Discharge Ionization, for the analysis of known Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, which represent common compounds of abuse in professional and semiprofessional sport. Eight real samples of illegal food supplements, seized by the local law enforcement, were used to test the performance of the ambient mass spectrometry and the results were validated against a newly developed targeted LC-UV-MS/MS method performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode with an external calibration for each analyte. In order to decide whether or not the compound can be declared as present, we proposed a system of rules for the interpretation of the obtained spectra. The criteria are based on mass spectrum matching (5-10 ppm accuracy from the theoretical exact mass and a correct isotopic pattern), duration of the mass signal (three or five consecutive scans, depending on the instrumentation used), and intensity above the background noise (threefold increase in intensity and absolute intensity above 5E4 or 1E5, depending on the instrumentation). When applying these criteria, good agreement was found between the tested methods. Ambient ionization techniques were effective at detecting SARMs at pharmacologically relevant doses, i.e., approximately above 1 mg per capsule, although they may fail to detect lower levels or isomeric species. It is demonstrated that when adhering to a set of clear and consistent rules, ambient mass spectrometry can be employed as a qualitative technique for the screening of illegal SARMs with sufficient confidence and without the necessity to perform a regular LC-MS analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alžběta Nemeškalová
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jitka Konvalinková
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Magdaléna Vágnerová
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28, Prague 6, Czech Republic; Forensic Laboratory of Biologically Active Substances, Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Kuchař
- Forensic Laboratory of Biologically Active Substances, Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Buček
- Plasmion GmbH, Am Mittleren Moos 48, 86167, Augsburg, Germany
| | - Vladimír Vrkoslav
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo Náměstí 542/2, 166 00, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - David Sýkora
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Josef Cvačka
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo Náměstí 542/2, 166 00, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Michael Volny
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28, Prague 6, Czech Republic; Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, 142 00, Prague 4, Czech Republic.
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12
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Turkmen Z, Arslan Z, Oka M, Yayla M, Bavunoglu I. LC-MS/MS quantification of olanzapine in hair after alkaline digestion. Drug Test Anal 2024. [PMID: 38840461 DOI: 10.1002/dta.3744] [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: 03/08/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
Olanzapine (OLZ), a second-generation antipsychotic drug, is effective in the treatment of acute psychosis, schizophrenia, agitation, bipolar mania, and other psychiatric problems. Antipsychotics are prescribed drugs, which lead the drug abuser to illegal methods of access. This behavior also demonstrates the association of OLZ with criminal involvement, commonly observed at forensic crime scenes. The acute toxicity and even death resulting from OLZ exposure have been highlighted in numerous studies. Therefore, developing analytical techniques to detect OLZ is essential for forensic toxicology. This study aimed to develop a specific and reliable LC-MS/MS method for OLZ detection and quantification in hair samples. The method was validated in terms of selectivity, linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), trueness, precision, and uncertainty. The range of linearity was between 0.1-100 ng/mg, with LOD and LOQ values established at 0.036 ng/mg and 0.1 ng/mg, respectively. All validation results are within acceptable parameters. The validated method has been applied to authentic hair samples. The variation of OLZ concentrations in 12 hair segments (2 from Case 1 and 10 from Case 2) from two drug-positive patients, ranging from 0.131 to 0.460 ng/mg, is presented in this study. Although several studies have been conducted to determine OLZ in hair samples using segmental analysis via hair solubilization, this study is the first to determine OLZ in hair samples after "digestion" with comparative parameters prior to chromatographic analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeynep Turkmen
- Department of Science, Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Zeynep Arslan
- Department of Science, Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Merve Oka
- Department of Science, Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Murat Yayla
- Department of Science, Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Isil Bavunoglu
- Department of Internal Medicine, Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Istanbul, Turkey
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13
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Hsu WH, Cheng KW, Feng TH, Chen JY, Chen GY, Chen LY, Weng T, Hsu CC. Rapid Screening of New Psychoactive Substances Using pDART-QqQ-MS. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY 2024; 35:1370-1376. [PMID: 38652738 PMCID: PMC11157655 DOI: 10.1021/jasms.4c00124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Drug abuse is a severe social problem worldwide. Particularly, the issue of new psychoactive substances (NPSs) have increasingly emerged. NPSs are structural or functional analogs of traditional illicit drugs, such as cocaine, cannabis, and amphetamine; these molecules provide the same or more severe neurological effects. Usually, immunoassays are utilized in the preliminary screening method. However, NPSs have poor detectability in commercially available immunoassay kits. Meanwhile, various chromatography combined with the mass spectrometry platform have been developed to quantify NPSs. Still, a significant amount of time and resources are required during these procedures. Therefore, we established a rapid analytical platform for NPSs employing paper-loaded direct analysis in real time triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (pDART-QqQ-MS). We implemented this platform for the semiquantitative analysis of forensic drug tests in urine. This platform significantly shrinks the analytical time of a single sample within 30 s and requires a low volume of the specimen. The platform can detect 21 NPSs in urine mixtures at a lower limit of qualification of concentration ranging from 20 to 75 nanograms per milliliter (ng mL-1) and is lower than the cutoff value of currently available immune-based devices for detecting multiple drugs (1000 ng mL-1). Urine samples from drug addicts have been collected to verify the platform's effectiveness. By combining efficiency and accuracy, our platform offers a promising solution for addressing the challenges posed by NPSs in drug abuse detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Hsin Hsu
- Department
of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Kai-Wen Cheng
- Department
of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Tzu-Hsuan Feng
- Department
of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Ju-Yu Chen
- Forensic
and Clinical Toxicology Center National Taiwan University College
of Medicine and National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 10051, Taiwan
| | - Guan-Yuan Chen
- Forensic
and Clinical Toxicology Center National Taiwan University College
of Medicine and National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 10051, Taiwan
- Department
and Graduate Institute of Forensic Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10051, Taiwan
| | - Lian-Yu Chen
- Institute
of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10051, Taiwan
- Kunming
Prevention and Control Center, Taipei City
Hospital, Taipei 108203, Taiwan
| | - Te−I Weng
- Forensic
and Clinical Toxicology Center National Taiwan University College
of Medicine and National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 10051, Taiwan
- Department
and Graduate Institute of Forensic Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10051, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Chih Hsu
- Department
of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
- Leeuwenhoek
Laboratories Co. Ltd., No. 71, Fanglan Rd, Taipei, 106038, Taiwan
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14
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Makhdoom HS, Afzal S, Sultana K, Shah SNH, Mujahid M, Hassan ZU, Munir F, Jahan F, Abbas Z, Abid AI, Khan NUH. SPE-UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS Analysis of Cocaine and Its Metabolites in Conventional and Alternative Biological Specimens: Application to Real Samples. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:23355-23363. [PMID: 38854579 PMCID: PMC11154955 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
An increase in cocaine abuse has been observed globally since the past decade. Cocaine is among the commonly abused stimulants used for recreational purposes. In this study, the SPE-UHPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated to be applied on real specimens of 20 chronic cocaine abusers to quantify cocaine/metabolites in conventional as well as alternative biological matrices. Cocaine was extracted from biological specimens using solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Poroshell120EC-18 column (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 2.7 μm particle size) using water-acetonitrile in 0.1% formic acid as a mobile phase in gradient elution mode. The flow rate of the mobile phase was 0.5 mL/min with a gradient varying the percentage of acetonitrile linearity ranging 15-95% in 6.0 min acquisition time, and the injection volume was set at 5 μL. Positive electrospray ionization with multireaction ion monitoring mode using two ion transitions for cocaine/metabolites and one for cocaine-d3 was employed. The quantification method demonstrated good linear ranges of 0.025-250 ng/mL in blood, urine, and oral fluid (ng/mg for hair and nail) with a ≥0.991% determination coefficient. The detection limit and lower quantification limit were 0.005 and 0.025 ng/mL in all matrices, respectively. The mean extraction recovery and ionization suppression ranged from 89.3 to 99.8% and -4.6 to -14.4% in the studied matrices. Within-run and between-days precisions were 1.8-7.2% and 1.9-6.1%, respectively. This study will not only help in quantifying cocaine/metabolites in alternative specimens (hair, nail, and oral fluid) but also guide clinical and forensic toxicologists in interpretation of exhumation cases. Furthermore, multiple specimens' analyses can be of significance in estimating the time/manner of drug exposure, in confirming the results of laboratories in cases of doubtful clinical histories, or in aiding medico-legal investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Humera Shafi Makhdoom
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lahore, Lahore 44000, Pakistan
- Clinical
and Forensic Toxicology Department, Chughtai
Healthcare, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
| | - Saira Afzal
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lahore, Lahore 44000, Pakistan
| | - Kishwar Sultana
- Department of Pharmacy, Iqra
University Islamabad Campus, Islamabad 440000, Pakistan
| | | | - Majida Mujahid
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lahore, Lahore 44000, Pakistan
- Drug
Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
| | | | - Farida Munir
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lahore, Lahore 44000, Pakistan
| | - Faryal Jahan
- Shifa Tameer e Millat University Islamabad, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
| | - Zeerak Abbas
- Clinical
and Forensic Toxicology Department, Chughtai
Healthcare, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
| | - Ali Imran Abid
- Department of Regenerative
Nanomedicine, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg 67081, France
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15
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Huang S, van Beek TA, Claassen FW, Janssen HG, Ma M, Chen B, Zuilhof H, Salentijn GI. Comprehensive cannabinoid profiling of acid-treated CBD samples and Δ 8-THC-infused edibles. Food Chem 2024; 440:138187. [PMID: 38134831 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.138187] [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: 04/23/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Δ8-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8-THC) is increasingly popular as a controversial substitute for Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) in cannabinoid-infused edibles. Δ8-THC is prepared from cannabidiol (CBD) by treatment with acids. Side products including Δ9-THC and other isomers that might end up in Δ8-THC edibles are less studied. In this paper, three orthogonal methods, namely reversed-phase (RP)-UHPLC-DAD/HRMS, normal-phase/argentation (silica-Ag(I))-HPLC-DAD/MS, and GC-FID/MS were developed for analysis of cannabinoid isomers, namely Δ8-THC, Δ9-THC, CBD, Δ8-iso-THC, Δ(4)8-iso-THC, and hydrated THC isomers. Eight acid-treated CBD mixtures contained various amounts of Δ8-THC (0-89%, w/w%), high levels of Δ9-THC (up to 49%), Δ8-isoTHC (up to 55%), Δ(4)8-iso-THC (up to 17%), and three hydrated THC isomers. Commercial Δ8-THC gummies were also analyzed, and issues like overclaimed Δ8-THC, excessive Δ9-THC, undeclared Δ8-iso-THC, and Δ(4)8-iso-THC were found. These findings highlight the urgency of improving regulations towards converting CBD to Δ8-THC for use as food ingredients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Si Huang
- Key Laboratory of Phytochemical R&D of Hunan Province and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology & Traditional Chinese Medicine Research of Ministry of Education, Hunan Normal University, No.36, Lushan Road, 410081 Changsha, China; Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Teris A van Beek
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Frank W Claassen
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Hans-Gerd Janssen
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands; Unilever Foods Innovation Centre - Hive, Bronland 14, 6708 WH Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ming Ma
- Key Laboratory of Phytochemical R&D of Hunan Province and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology & Traditional Chinese Medicine Research of Ministry of Education, Hunan Normal University, No.36, Lushan Road, 410081 Changsha, China
| | - Bo Chen
- Key Laboratory of Phytochemical R&D of Hunan Province and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology & Traditional Chinese Medicine Research of Ministry of Education, Hunan Normal University, No.36, Lushan Road, 410081 Changsha, China.
| | - Han Zuilhof
- Key Laboratory of Phytochemical R&D of Hunan Province and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology & Traditional Chinese Medicine Research of Ministry of Education, Hunan Normal University, No.36, Lushan Road, 410081 Changsha, China; Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - G Ij Salentijn
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands; Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR), Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 230, 6700 AE Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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16
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Nižnanská Ž, Hengerics Szabó A, Masár M, Szucs R, Šikuta J, Nižnanský Ľ. A Tissue Distribution Study of Propafenone in an Intentional Fatal Poisoning Case. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:5202. [PMID: 38791240 PMCID: PMC11120697 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25105202] [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: 04/03/2024] [Revised: 05/03/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Propafenone (PPF) belongs to the class 1C antiarrhythmics and can cause electrocardiogram-associated adverse/toxic effects. Cases of PPF intoxication are rarely investigated. We developed a novel and selective GC-MS/MS method for the determination of PPF and its tissue distribution in an intentional fatal poisoning case, which is applicable to PPF quantification in the range of therapeutic to lethal concentrations in complex post-mortem samples. A simple and effective sample pretreatment was applied to all analyzed samples. PPF was determined without the need for dilution, even in highly complex samples containing a wide range of analyte concentrations. Quantification was performed using the standard addition method, developed and validated according to the ICH M10 guidelines. The obtained results indicated that the PPF concentration in the serum from blood taken while alive, before therapy, was the highest ever reported in the literature. Despite the intensive therapy after the patients' admission, the PPF concentrations in the lungs, spleen, femoral blood and cardiac blood were fatal or abnormally high. On the other hand, the concentrations in the liver and skeletal muscle were lower or approximately the same as observed in cases with therapeutic doses. To the best of our knowledge, the distribution of PPF has not been investigated in fatal intoxication cases and can be helpful in clinical or forensic toxicology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Žofia Nižnanská
- Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University Bratislava, Sasinková 4, 81108 Bratislava, Slovakia;
- Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Health Care Surveillance Authority, Antolská 11, 85107 Bratislava, Slovakia;
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, Mlynská Dolina, Ilkovičova 6, 84215 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.M.); (R.S.)
| | - Alexandra Hengerics Szabó
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Education, J. Selye University, Bratislavská cesta 3322, 94501 Komárno, Slovakia;
| | - Marián Masár
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, Mlynská Dolina, Ilkovičova 6, 84215 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.M.); (R.S.)
| | - Roman Szucs
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, Mlynská Dolina, Ilkovičova 6, 84215 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.M.); (R.S.)
| | - Ján Šikuta
- Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Health Care Surveillance Authority, Antolská 11, 85107 Bratislava, Slovakia;
| | - Ľuboš Nižnanský
- Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University Bratislava, Sasinková 4, 81108 Bratislava, Slovakia;
- Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Health Care Surveillance Authority, Antolská 11, 85107 Bratislava, Slovakia;
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17
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Schachterle ML, Lowe LE, Owens JE. Exploring the residential exposome: Determination of hazardous flame retardants in air filter dust from HVAC systems. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 248:118223. [PMID: 38286254 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
Dust is a sink for flame retardants, which are added to a myriad of consumer products in residential spaces. Organophosphate esters (OPEs) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are two classes of flame retardants that are frequently used in consumer products and consequently found in dust. In this present work, a novel solvent-limited microextraction technique, which we detailed in a companion study, was applied for the determination of four OPEs and two BFRs with limits of quantitation at the ng/g level by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry from n = 47 air filter dust samples collected from forced air HVAC systems. Levels of the BFRs, including tetrabromobisphenol-A and its derivative tribromobisphenol-A, were found at levels <4 μg/g and not frequently detected. Conversely, all four OPEs were detected in all air filter dust samples. Total OPE load was dominated by tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphate, T24DtBPP, a novel OPE not widely examined in the literature. Comparison of individual and total OPE concentrations to residential characteristics revealed statistically significant relationships to location of the home and dominant flooring type. Overall, this study motivates future work in examining the whole house exposome using air filter dust as a passive sampling regime with more examination of T24DtBPP loads within other indoor spaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan L Schachterle
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO, 80918, USA.
| | - Luis E Lowe
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO, 80918, USA
| | - Janel E Owens
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO, 80918, USA.
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18
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Shi Q, Wang G, Wang S, Zhang C, Wei Z, Guo Z, Zhang D, Yun K, Fu S. Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric method for determination of 52 antibiotics in human whole blood and urine and application to forensic cases. Forensic Toxicol 2024:10.1007/s11419-024-00688-y. [PMID: 38642241 DOI: 10.1007/s11419-024-00688-y] [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: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/22/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE A rapid and reliable method was developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of 52 antibiotics (cephalosporins, penicillins, carbapenems, lincosamides, quinolones, nitroimidazoles, macrolides, sulfonamides, tetracyclines, glycopeptide) in urine and whole blood by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). METHOD Analytes were extracted by dilution or protein precipitation and analyzed on an Agilent 1260 HPLC system coupled to an Agilent 6470 Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer. RESULTS The method attended method validation criteria. The limits of detection were equal or lower than 2.0 ng/mL, whereas the limits of quantification ranged from 0.1 to 10.0 ng/mL, from 0.1 to 5.0 ng/mL, in urine and whole blood, respectively. For all analytes, the bias and intra- and inter-day precision values were less than 14.7%. The ranges of recovery values of all antibiotics were 76.5-124.5% in whole blood and 76.3-121.8% in urine, values of the effects were lower than 25% in two matrices. No evidence of carryover was observed. The study of sample stability showed that almost all analytes were stable at 24 °C for 24 h, all analytes were stable at -20 °C for 14 days and at -80 °C for 30 days. Freeze-thaw cycles stability showed that antibiotics were stable except for imipenem. Autosampler stability study showed that all analytes were stable for 24 h, except for imipenem and amoxicillin. Applicability was proven by analyzing authentic whole blood (n = 86) and urine (n = 79) samples from patients under antibiotics treatment. Therefore, this method was applied to the analysis 3 forensic allergy cases, which were positive for at least one analyte. CONCLUSIONS A simple, sensitive and high-throughput method for the simultaneous determination of different classes of antibiotics in urine and whole blood samples was developed and applied. This sensitive method was successfully applied to forensic cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianwen Shi
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi, 030600, China
| | - Gege Wang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi, 030600, China
| | - Shuhui Wang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi, 030600, China
| | - Chao Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi, 030600, China
| | - Zhiwen Wei
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi, 030600, China
| | - Zhongyuan Guo
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi, 030600, China
| | - Dan Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi, 030600, China
| | - Keming Yun
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi, 030600, China.
| | - Shanlin Fu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China.
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi, 030600, China.
- Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia.
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19
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Kuwayama K, Miyaguchi H, Kanamori T, Tsujikawa K, Yamamuro T, Segawa H, Okada Y, Iwata YT. Development of a method to evaluate the effects of external environments on drug stability in nails using micro-segmental analysis. Drug Test Anal 2024. [PMID: 38631699 DOI: 10.1002/dta.3698] [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: 03/03/2024] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Nails can be used as an alternative to hair for examining past drug use. However, daily hand-and-nail care can eliminate the internal drugs. Therefore, we developed an evaluation method to examine the effects of the external environment on drug stability in nails using micro-segmental analysis. First, reference nails containing drugs were prepared by collecting fingernails from participants who had consumed hay-fever medicines continuously for 4 months. Next, the entire free edge of a reference nail was cut into halves at the centerline; one side was stored as an untreated block, and the other was treated with various hand/nail care products. Both nail blocks were washed and segmented at 0.5-mm intervals in the width direction. Each segment in the extraction solution was crushed with stainless-steel beads, sonicated, and soaked in the solution for 24 h. The analytes in extracts were quantified by LC-MS/MS, and the drug concentrations between the treated and untreated blocks were compared. The drug concentrations decreased slightly in nails treated with manicure and gel-nail products. The analytes in nails tended to be lower in water-rich products such as hand soap and hand cream than in oil-rich products such as nailcare oil and acetone-free remover. The developed method using micro-segmental analysis enabled the evaluation of the effects of various hand/nail care products on drug stability in a limited number of nails. This would also be useful for examining the effects of severe environments on drugs in nails collected from cases of unnatural death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji Kuwayama
- National Research Institute of Police Science, Chiba, Japan
| | | | | | | | | | - Hiroki Segawa
- National Research Institute of Police Science, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yuki Okada
- National Research Institute of Police Science, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yuko T Iwata
- National Research Institute of Police Science, Chiba, Japan
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20
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Ververi C, Galletto M, Massano M, Alladio E, Vincenti M, Salomone A. Method development for the quantification of nine nitazene analogs and brorphine in Dried Blood Spots utilizing liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2024; 241:115975. [PMID: 38280237 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2024.115975] [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: 10/29/2023] [Revised: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
The detection of nitazenes in biological fluids is increasingly needed as they are repeatedly reported in intoxication and overdose cases. A simple method for the quantification of low levels of nine nitazene analogs and brorphine in Dried Blood Spots (DBS) was developed and validated. 10 μL of spiked whole blood is deposited on a Capitainer®B card and allowed to dry. The spot is punched out, and extracted with 500 μL methanol:acetonitrile (3:1 v/v) added with 1.5 μL of fentanyl-D5 as the internal standard. After stirring, sonication, and centrifugation of the vial, the solvent is dried under nitrogen, the extract is reconstituted in 30 μL methanol, and 1 μL is injected into a UHPLC-MS/MS instrument. The method validation showed linear calibration in the 1-50 ng/mL range, LOD values ranging between 0.3 ng/mL (isotonitazene) and 0.5 ng/mL (brorphine), average CV% and bias% within 15 % and 10 % for all compounds, respectively. The matrix effect due to blood and filter paper components was within 85-115 % while recovery was between 15-20 %. Stability tests against time and temperature showed no significant variations for storage periods up to 28 days. Room temperature proved to represent the best samples storage conditions. UHPLC-MS/MS proved capable to reliably identify all target analytes at low concentration even in small specimen volumes, as those obtained from DBS cards, which in turn confirmed to be effective and sustainable micro-sampling devices. This procedure improves the efficiency of toxicological testing and provides an innovative approach for the identification of the nitazene class of illicit compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Marta Massano
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Marco Vincenti
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy; Centro Regionale Antidoping, Orbassano, Turin, Italy
| | - Alberto Salomone
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy; Centro Regionale Antidoping, Orbassano, Turin, Italy
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21
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Saatchi A, Zarkovic T, Borden S, Palaty J, Gill C. Therapeutic drug monitoring of clozapine in human serum by high-throughput paper spray mass spectrometry. J Mass Spectrom Adv Clin Lab 2024; 32:41-46. [PMID: 38419980 PMCID: PMC10899010 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmsacl.2024.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Monitoring the atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine is crucial to ensure patient safety. This article showcases a high-throughput analytical method for measuring clozapine and its primary metabolite norclozapine (N-desmethylclozapine) in serum using paper spray mass spectrometry (PS-MS). Objectives This study aimed to assess the viability of a PS-MS method for the rapid measurement of clozapine and norclozapine in human serum samples as an alternative to liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Methods Serum samples were processed by protein precipitation followed by deposition of the supernatant containing labelled internal standards onto paper spray substrates mounted in cartridges. Analytes were then analyzed using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with a commercial paper spray ionization source. The results obtained from the patient samples were compared to those from a validated LC-MS assay. Results PS-MS calibrations for clozapine and norclozapine were linear (R2 > 0.99) over five days. Between-run precision was below 8 %, and within-run precision did not exceed 10 %. When compared to a validated LC-MS method, the mean bias for 39 patient samples was -9% for clozapine and -1% for norclozapine, with no outliers. Mass spectrometry ion ratio comparisons indicated no interference for patient samples above the lower limit of quantification. There was less than 7 % change in the measured concentrations of both analytes over five days for samples dried on paper substrates. Notably, virtually no maintenance of the MS source was required during this study. Conclusion This study illustrates the potential of PS-MS for serum drug monitoring in the clinical laboratory.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Saatchi
- Applied Environmental Research Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - T.M. Zarkovic
- Applied Environmental Research Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - S.A. Borden
- Applied Environmental Research Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - J. Palaty
- Fraser Health Authority, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - C.G. Gill
- Applied Environmental Research Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR), University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
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22
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Makhdoom HS, Abid AI, Mujahid M, Afzal S, Sultana K, Hussain N, Barkat K. Assessment of pheniramine in alternative biological matrices by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 2024:10.1007/s12024-024-00795-7. [PMID: 38530580 DOI: 10.1007/s12024-024-00795-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
Pheniramine is an over-the-counter antihistamine drug. Its accessibility and low cost made it more popular among drug abusers in Pakistan. In this study, pheniramine was quantified in both conventional and alternative specimens of twenty chronic drug abusers, aged 16-50 years, who were positive for pheniramine in comprehensive toxicological screening for drugs by gas chromatography with mass spectral detection in positive electron impact mode. Pheniramine was extracted from biological specimens using solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was employed for quantification. Chromatographic separation was carried out on a Poroshell120EC-18 (2.1 mm × 50 mm × 2.7 µm) column using water-acetonitrile in formic acid (0.1%) mobile phase in gradient elution mode with 500 μL/min flow rate. Positive electrospray ionization mode and multi-reaction monitoring with ion transitions m/z 241.3 → 195.8 and 167.1 for pheniramine and m/z m/z 247.6 → 173.1 for pheniramine-d6 were employed. The quantification method showed good linear ranges of 2-1000 ng/mL in blood, urine, and oral fluid; 2-1000 ng/mg in hair and 5-1000 ng/mg in nail with ≥ 0.985% coefficient of linearity. The retention time of pheniramine was 3.0 ± 0.1 min. The detection and lower quantification limits were 1 ng/mL and 2 ng/mL for blood, urine, oral fluid and hair whereas 2.5 ng/mg and 5 ng/mg for nail, respectively. Mean extraction recovery and ionization suppression ranged 86.3-95.1% and -4.6 to -14.4% in the studied matrices. Intra-day and inter-day precision were 4.1-9.3% and 2.8-11.2%, respectively. Pheniramine levels in specimens of drug abusers were 23-480 ng/mL in blood, 72-735 ng/mL in urine, 25-379 ng/mL in oral fluid, 10-170 ng/mg in hair and 8-86 ng/mg in nail specimens. Alternative specimens are of utmost significance in clinical and medico-legal cases. In this study, authors compared matrix-matched calibration curves to blood calibration curve and obtained results within ± 10%; thereby justifying the use of blood calibration curve for urine, oral fluid, hair, and nail specimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Humera Shafi Makhdoom
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
- Clinical and Forensic Toxicology Department, Chughtai Healthcare, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Ali Imran Abid
- Université de Strasbourg, INSERM, Régénérative nanomédecine UMR 1260, Centre de Recherche en Biomédecine de Strasbourg (CRBS), F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Majida Mujahid
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
- Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Saira Afzal
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Kishwar Sultana
- Department of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences, Iqra University Islamabad Campus, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Nisar Hussain
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Kashif Barkat
- Clinical and Forensic Toxicology Department, Chughtai Healthcare, Lahore, Pakistan
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23
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Longo V, Stocchero G, Lucchiari M, Marchio GM, Donini F, Ingenito F, Bertoldi L, Pecoraro L, Anesi A, Favretto D. An LC-MS/MS method for the determination of drugs of abuse included THC-COOH, EtG, and NPS, using a single hair extraction sample. Drug Test Anal 2024. [PMID: 38532552 DOI: 10.1002/dta.3675] [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: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
Hair analysis plays an important role in the determination of drugs of abuse in both forensic and clinical toxicology investigations. The analysis of different substances often requires the use of different sample preparation methods, thereby increasing the amount of hair sample and time required. In the present study, a fast method involving a combination of a single 25 mg hair extraction procedure and four liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry methods using the same chromatographic phases and column was developed and validated. The target was the identification and quantification of various commonly abused drugs and their metabolites, including amphetamines, cocaine, opioids, cannabinoids, THC-COOH and EtG, and more than 140 new psychoactive substances, including synthetic cannabinoids, phenethylamines, synthetic opioids, methylphenidate, cathinone, piperidine, and tryptamines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Longo
- Toxicology Division, U.O.C. Clinical Pathology, APSS, Trento, Italy
| | - Giulia Stocchero
- Toxicology Division, U.O.C. Clinical Pathology, APSS, Trento, Italy
| | | | | | - Flora Donini
- Toxicology Division, U.O.C. Clinical Pathology, APSS, Trento, Italy
| | | | - Lucia Bertoldi
- Toxicology Division, U.O.C. Clinical Pathology, APSS, Trento, Italy
| | - Lucia Pecoraro
- Toxicology Division, U.O.C. Clinical Pathology, APSS, Trento, Italy
| | - Adriano Anesi
- Toxicology Division, U.O.C. Clinical Pathology, APSS, Trento, Italy
| | - Donata Favretto
- Legal Medicine and Toxicology, University Hospital of Padova, Padova, Italy
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24
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Zhou S, Wang H, Tang J, Wang H, Yan J. Simultaneous speciation analysis of arsenic and iodine in human urine by high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. ANAL SCI 2024; 40:555-562. [PMID: 38091252 DOI: 10.1007/s44211-023-00472-9] [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: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
A high-performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry-based method was developed for the simultaneous determination of four iodine species (i.e. iodate, 3-iodo-tyrosine, 3,5-diiodo-tyrosine, and iodide) and six arsenic species (i.e. arsenobetaine, arsenite, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenocholine, methylarsonic acid, and arsenate) in human urine. The chromatographic separation was performed on a Dionex IonPac As7 anion exchange column. The mobile phase was initiated with 0.5 mmol/L ammonium carbonate solution, followed by 50 mmol/L ammonium carbonate/100 mmol/L ammonium nitrate solution (with 4% methanol). The limits of quantification of the analytes ranged from 0.045 to 2.26 μg/L. At three spiked levels (10.0, 20.0, 50.0 μg/L), the average recoveries (%) ranged from 87.4 to 113.1%, and the relative standard deviations (RSD, %) ranged from 0.4 to 17.2%. The ratio of the sum of six arsenic species to the total arsenic measured by ICPMS ranged from 77.4 to 121.2%, and the ratio of the sum of the four iodine species to the total iodine ranged from 70.7 to 114.7%, indicating a good agreement between these two methods for both arsenic and iodine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaomin Zhou
- Zhejiang University School of Medicine Women's Hospital, Hangzhou, 310051, Zhejiang, China
| | - Heng Wang
- Zhoushan Central Blood Station, Zhoushan, 316021, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jun Tang
- Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, 310051, Zhejiang, China
| | - Heng Wang
- Key Laboratory of Health Risk Factors for Seafood of Zhejiang Province, Zhoushan Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhoushan, 316021, Zhejiang, China.
| | - Jianbo Yan
- Key Laboratory of Health Risk Factors for Seafood of Zhejiang Province, Zhoushan Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhoushan, 316021, Zhejiang, China.
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25
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Ialongo C. Blood alcohol concentration in the clinical laboratory: a narrative review of the preanalytical phase in diagnostic and forensic testing. Biochem Med (Zagreb) 2024; 34:010501. [PMID: 38107001 PMCID: PMC10564119 DOI: 10.11613/bm.2024.010501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The analysis of blood alcohol concentration (BAC), a pivotal toxicological test, concerns acute alcohol intoxication (AAI) and driving under the influence (DUI). As such, BAC presents an organizational challenge for clinical laboratories, with unique complexities due to the need for forensic defensibility as part of the diagnostic process. Unfortunately, a significant number of scientific investigations dealing with the subject present discrepancies that make it difficult to identify optimal practices in sample collection, transportation, handling, and preparation. This review provides a systematic analysis of the preanalytical phase of BAC that aims to identify and explain the chemical, physiological, and pharmacological mechanisms underlying controllable operational factors. Nevertheless, it seeks evidence for the necessity to separate preanalytical processes for diagnostic and forensic BAC testing. In this regard, the main finding of this review is that no literature evidence supports the necessity to differentiate preanalytical procedures for AAI and DUI, except for the traceability throughout the chain of custody. In fact, adhering to correct preanalytical procedures provided by official bodies such as European federation of clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine for routine phlebotomy ensures both diagnostic accuracy and forensic defensibility of BAC. This is shown to depend on the capability of modern pre-evacuated sterile collection tubes to control major factors influencing BAC, namely non-enzymatic oxidation and microbial contamination. While certain restrictions become obsolete with such devices, as the use of sodium fluoride (NaF) for specific preservation of forensic BAC, this review reinforces the recommendation to use non-alcoholic disinfectants as a means to achieve "error-proof" procedures in challenging operational environments like the emergency department.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristiano Ialongo
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Policlinico Umberto I, ‘Sapienza’ University, Rome, Italy
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26
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Jørgensen AR, Hansen J, Bue M, Hanberg P, Stilling M. Microdialysis as a sampling tool for the chemotherapeutic agent Doxorubicin. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2024; 239:115872. [PMID: 38039870 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2023.115872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
Doxorubicin is a chemotherapeutic agent used for more than fifty years to treat a great variety of cancers in both children and adults. Despite hereof, pharmacokinetic knowledge is almost solely based on systemic plasma concentrations. Microdialysis is a catheter-based pharmacokinetic sampling tool enabling simultaneous target site sampling of unbound molecules of interest. The aim of this study was to thoroughly evaluate the feasibility of applying microdialysis for sampling of Doxorubicin in both in vitro experiments and an in vivo setting. Doxorubicin relative recovery by gain and by loss was tested for different catheter types, perfusion fluids, concentrations and collection vials. Adsorption tests revealed polystyrene/santoprene vials to be the biggest contributor of unwanted adsorption between Doxorubicin and the microdialysis equipment, and confirmed LoBind Eppendorf tubes to be a suitable alternative. The methodological combination of polyamide membranes, saline as perfusion fluid and LoBind Eppendorf sampling tubes demonstrated no statistically significant differences for relative recovery by gain and by loss, and the relative recovery was also found to be concentration independent. We conclude, that a proper microdialysis set-up can be used to collect samples containing concentrations of the chemotherapeutic drug Doxorubicin in vitro and in vivo, which encourage future pharmacokinetic studies to evaluate current treatment regimens to find the most effective and least toxic anti-neoplastic treatment for the patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea René Jørgensen
- Aarhus Denmark Microdialysis Research (ADMIRE), Orthopaedic Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus N, Denmark.
| | - Jakob Hansen
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Mats Bue
- Aarhus Denmark Microdialysis Research (ADMIRE), Orthopaedic Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus N, Denmark; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Pelle Hanberg
- Aarhus Denmark Microdialysis Research (ADMIRE), Orthopaedic Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Maiken Stilling
- Aarhus Denmark Microdialysis Research (ADMIRE), Orthopaedic Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus N, Denmark; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark
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27
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Pereira I, Robinson JL, Gill CG. Simultaneous quantitation of urinary albumin and creatinine for rapid clinical albuminuria diagnostics using high-throughput paper spray mass spectrometry. Analyst 2024; 149:1102-1110. [PMID: 38093632 DOI: 10.1039/d3an01855e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/13/2024]
Abstract
Albuminuria is a clinical condition associated with poor kidney function, diagnosed by determining the ratio of albumin to creatinine concentrations in patient urine samples. We present a high-throughput paper spray mass spectrometry (PS-MS) method for simultaneous quantitation of urinary albumin and creatinine for potential diagnosis of albuminuria. Minimal (urine dilution) or no sample preparation is required. The analytical performance of the method was evaluated, achieving linear calibration curves (R2 > 0.99) with little inter-day variability in the slope (N = 5 days), exhibiting coefficient of variation (CV) of 8% and 3% for albumin and creatinine, respectively. LOD and LOQ for albumin were 2.1 and 7.0 mg L-1, and for creatinine were 0.01 and 0.03 mmol L-1, respectively. Intra- and inter-day (N = 5) precisions (%CV) and accuracies (%bias) were <10% and ±11%, respectively, for both analytes. The method was applied to determine albumin-to-creatinine ratios in anonymous human patient urine samples (N = 56), and a correlation of R2 = 0.9744 was achieved between the PS-MS results and validated clinical method results. This work demonstrates the utility of PS-MS to simultaneously quantify a large (albumin) and a small (creatinine) molecule directly in patient urine samples, and its potential as a tool for clinical albuminuria diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Pereira
- Applied Environmental Research Laboratories (AERL), Chemistry Department, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, BC, V9R 5S5, Canada.
| | | | - Chris G Gill
- Applied Environmental Research Laboratories (AERL), Chemistry Department, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, BC, V9R 5S5, Canada.
- Chemistry Department, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada
- Chemistry Department, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195-1618, USA
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28
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Lindsay CM, Bernard KK, Hammond AM, Beckford S, Abel WD, Brown PD, Young LE. Potency trends of cannabis in Jamaica during the period of 2014 to 2020. Drug Test Anal 2024; 16:174-186. [PMID: 37309060 DOI: 10.1002/dta.3527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Reports suggest that cannabis potency has dramatically increased over the last decade in the USA and Europe. Cannabinoids are the terpeno-phenolic compounds found in the cannabis plant and are responsible for its pharmacological activity. The two most prominent cannabinoids are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9 THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis potency is measured not only by the Δ9 THC levels but also by the ratio of Δ9 THC to other non-psychoactive cannabinoids, namely, CBD. Cannabis use was decriminalized in Jamaica in 2015, which opened the gates for the creation of a regulated medical cannabis industry in the country. To date, there is no information available on the potency of cannabis in Jamaica. In this study, the cannabinoid content of Jamaican-grown cannabis was examined over the period 2014-2020. Two hundred ninety-nine herbal cannabis samples were received from 12 parishes across the island, and the levels of the major cannabinoids were determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. There was a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the median total THC levels of cannabis samples tested between 2014 (1.1%) and 2020 (10.2%). The highest median THC was detected in the central parish of Manchester (21.1%). During the period, THC/CBD ratios increased from 2.1 (2014) to 194.1 (2020), and there was a corresponding increase in the percent freshness of samples (CBN/THC ratios <0.013). The data show that a significant increase in the potency of locally grown cannabis has occurred in Jamaica during the last decade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carole M Lindsay
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Kingston, Jamaica
| | - Khalia K Bernard
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Kingston, Jamaica
| | - Amanda M Hammond
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Kingston, Jamaica
| | - Sheldon Beckford
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Kingston, Jamaica
| | - Wendel D Abel
- Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Kingston, Jamaica
| | - Paul D Brown
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Kingston, Jamaica
| | - Lauriann E Young
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Kingston, Jamaica
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29
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Zancanaro F, Tedeschi G, Zamengo L, Frasson S, Frison G. Determination of cannabinoids in 50 μL whole blood samples by online extraction using turbulent flow chromatography and LC-HRAM-Orbitrap-MS: Application on driving under the influence of drugs cases. Drug Test Anal 2024; 16:210-220. [PMID: 37343943 DOI: 10.1002/dta.3532] [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: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
The analysis of cannabinoids in whole blood is usually done by traditional mass spectrometry (MS) techniques, after offline cleanup or derivatization steps which can be lengthy, laborious, and expensive. We present a simple, fast, highly specific, and sensitive method for the determination of Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), 11-hydroxy-Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (11-OH-THC), and 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH) in 50 μL whole blood samples. After the addition of deuterated internal standards (IS) and a simple protein precipitation step, an online extraction of sample supernatants using turbulent flow chromatography (TurboFlow-Thermo Scientific) was carried out. Analytes were separated on a C18 analytical column and detected by LC-HRAM-Orbitrap-MS using a Thermo Scientific Q Exactive Focus MS system. MS detection was performed in polarity switching and selected ion monitoring (SIM) modes using five specific acquisition windows, at a resolution of 70,000 (FWHM). Total run time was about 10 min including preanalytical steps. Method validation was carried out by determining limit of detection (LOD), lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ), linearity range, analytical accuracy, intra-assay and interassay precision, carry-over, matrix effect, extraction recovery, and selectivity, for all analytes. Measurement uncertainties were also evaluated, and a decision rule was set with confidence for forensic purposes. The method may become suitable for clinical and forensic toxicology applications, taking advantage of the small matrix volume required, the simple and cost-effective sample preparation procedure, and the fast analytical run time. Performances were monitored over a long-term period and tested on 7620 driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) samples, including 641 positive samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flavio Zancanaro
- Laboratory of Clinical and Forensic Toxicology, DMPO Department, AULSS 3 Serenissima, Venice, Italy
| | - Gianpaola Tedeschi
- Laboratory of Clinical and Forensic Toxicology, DMPO Department, AULSS 3 Serenissima, Venice, Italy
| | - Luca Zamengo
- Laboratory of Clinical and Forensic Toxicology, DMPO Department, AULSS 3 Serenissima, Venice, Italy
| | - Samuela Frasson
- Laboratory of Clinical and Forensic Toxicology, DMPO Department, AULSS 3 Serenissima, Venice, Italy
| | - Giampietro Frison
- Laboratory of Clinical and Forensic Toxicology, DMPO Department, AULSS 3 Serenissima, Venice, Italy
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30
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Berlato DG, Bezerra Pacheco AL, Ugalde GA, Reginato FZ, Saldanha GDA, Oliveira TFD, Eller S, Bairros AVD. Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) for determination of tricyclic antidepressants in whole blood and plasma samples and analysis by liquid chromatography with diode array detector (LC-DAD). Toxicol Mech Methods 2024; 34:189-202. [PMID: 37830174 DOI: 10.1080/15376516.2023.2269236] [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: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Microextractions have been developed for the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) analysis in biological matrices, including dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME). The proposed DLLME employed 490 µL of biological sample (whole blood or plasma), which were added 15 mg of NaCl, 10 µL of medazepam as internal standard (10 µg/mL) and 100 µL of 2 M NaOH. This mixture was homogenized by vortex (2800 rpm/10 s) and 400 µL of hexane (extractor solvent) with 600 µL of methanol (dispersing solvent) were added to the sample. After the vortex step (2800 rpm/5 s), an ultrasonic bath for 300 s was employed. Then, this content was centrifuged (10 min/10000 rpm), organic phase was collected and dried under air flow. After, 30 µL of the mobile phase was used for resuspension and 20 µL is injected into LC-DAD. This method was optimized and fully validated according to UNODC and SWGTOX guidelines, reaching limits of detection equivalent to analytical methodologies that employ mass spectrometry (MS). Also, it was applied in real cases involving suspected exposure to TCAs. So, the developed DLLME for the determination of TCAs in whole blood and plasma samples proved to be a simple, reliable, robust and reproducible method that can be used in toxicology and clinical laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dener Gomes Berlato
- Nucleous Applied to Toxicology (NAT), Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analysis, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil
| | - André Lucas Bezerra Pacheco
- Nucleous Applied to Toxicology (NAT), Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analysis, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil
| | - Gustavo Andrade Ugalde
- Nucleous Applied to Toxicology (NAT), Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analysis, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Ziegler Reginato
- Nucleous Applied to Toxicology (NAT), Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analysis, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil
| | - Geovane de Almeida Saldanha
- Nucleous Applied to Toxicology (NAT), Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analysis, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil
| | - Tiago Franco de Oliveira
- Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Sarah Eller
- Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - André Valle de Bairros
- Nucleous Applied to Toxicology (NAT), Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analysis, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil
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Jones AW. Bibliometric evaluation of Journal of Analytical Toxicology as a scholarly publication according to the Web-of-Science citation database. J Anal Toxicol 2024; 48:1-8. [PMID: 37889229 DOI: 10.1093/jat/bkad080] [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: 09/08/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Soon approaching its 50th anniversary, Journal of Analytical Toxicology (JAT) is an international scholarly publication specializing in analytical and forensic aspects of toxicology. Science Citation Index (SCI) and Journal Citation Reports (JCR), both of which are part of the Web-of-Science (WOS) database, were used to make a bibliometric evaluation of JAT articles. Between 1977 (volume 1) and 2023 (volume 47), a total of n = 4,785 items were published in JAT; the top-ten most highly cited articles and the most prolific authors were identified. Changes in the journal impact factor (JIF) were studied between 1997 and 2022, and this metric varied from a low of 1.24 (2006) to a high of 3.36 (2020).The most recent JIF (2022) dropped to 2.5 and the corresponding 5 year JIF was 2.6. JAT's most highly cited article (590 cites) was a working group (SWGTOX) report dealing with standard practices for the validation of analytical methods in forensic toxicology laboratories. JAT published 62 articles each of which were cited over 100 times and the H-index for JAT was 89. The most prolific author of JAT articles was credited with 119 items, the first in 1980 (volume 4) and the latest in 2023 (volume 47). JAT articles were cited 4,537 times in 2022 by all journals in the JCR database, although 520 of these were self-citations (11.5%). Bibliometric methods are increasingly used to evaluate the published work of individual scientists, university departments, entire universities and whole countries. Highly cited articles are considered more influential and authoritative compared with papers that are seldom or never cited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan Wayne Jones
- Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Linköping, Linköping SE-58183, Sweden
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32
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Yang S, Wen D, Zheng F, Pu S, Chen Z, Chen M, Di B, Liu W, Shi Y. Simple and rapid detection of three amatoxins and three phallotoxins in human body fluids by UPLC-MS-MS and its application in 15 poisoning cases. J Anal Toxicol 2024; 48:44-53. [PMID: 37929913 DOI: 10.1093/jat/bkad081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Amatoxins and phallotoxins are toxic cyclopeptides found in the genus Amanita and are among the predominant causes of foodborne sickness and poisoning-related fatalities in China. This study introduces and validates a simple, rapid and cost-effective ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination and quantification of α-amanitin, β-amanitin, γ-amanitin, phallisacin, phallacidin and phalloidin in human blood and urine. Quick therapeutic decision-making is supported by a 9 min chromatographic separation performed on a Waters Acquity UPLC HSS T3 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 µm) using a gradient of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-grade water and methanol:0.005% formic acid. The analyte limit of quantification was 1-3 ng/mL in blood and 0.5-2 ng/mL in urine. Calibrations curves, prepared by spiking drug-free blood and urine, demonstrated acceptable linearity with mean correlation coefficients (r) greater than 0.99 for all phallotoxins and amatoxins. Acceptable intraday and interday precision (relative standard deviation <15%) and accuracy (bias, -4.8% to 13.0% for blood and-9.0% to 14.7% for urine) were achieved. The validated method was successfully applied to analyze 9 blood samples and 2 urine samples testing positive for amatoxins and/or phallotoxins. Amatoxins and/or phallotoxins were identified in each whole blood sample at a range of 1.12-5.63 ng/mL and in two urine samples from 1.01-9.27 ng/mL. The method has the benefits of simple sample preparation (protein precipitation) and wide analyte coverage, making it suitable for emergency quantitative surveillance toxicological analysis in clinics and forensic poisoning practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Yang
- Academy of Forensic science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, No. 1347 Guangfuxi Road, Shanghai 200063, China
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, No. 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Di Wen
- College of Forensic Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Collaborative Innovation Center of Forensic Medical Molecular Identification, No. 361 Zhongshan East Road, Shijiazhuang 050017, China
| | - Fenshuang Zheng
- Affiliated Hospital of Yunnan University (Yunnan Second People's Hospital, Yunnan Eye Hospital), No. 176 Qingnian Road, Kunming 650021, China
| | - Shanbai Pu
- Affiliated Hospital of Yunnan University (Yunnan Second People's Hospital, Yunnan Eye Hospital), No. 176 Qingnian Road, Kunming 650021, China
| | - Zhuonan Chen
- Academy of Forensic science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, No. 1347 Guangfuxi Road, Shanghai 200063, China
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, No. 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Mobing Chen
- Academy of Forensic science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, No. 1347 Guangfuxi Road, Shanghai 200063, China
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, No. 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Bin Di
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, No. 639 Longmian Avenue, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Wei Liu
- Academy of Forensic science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, No. 1347 Guangfuxi Road, Shanghai 200063, China
| | - Yan Shi
- Academy of Forensic science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, No. 1347 Guangfuxi Road, Shanghai 200063, China
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Cabarcos-Fernández P, Álvarez-Freire I, Rubio NC, Bermejo-Barrera AM, Moreda-Piñeiro A, Sánchez-Sellero I, Tabernero-Duque MJ. Evaluation of an Oral Fluid Collection Device and a Solid-Phase Extraction Method for the Determination of Coca Leaf Alkaloids by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. Molecules 2024; 29:592. [PMID: 38338336 PMCID: PMC11154435 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29030592] [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: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Some South American countries have ancient traditions that may pose legal problems, such as the consumption of coca leaves, as this can provide positive results for cocaine use after the analysis of biological samples. For this reason, it is necessary to find specific markers that help differentiate legal from illegal consumption, such as tropacocaine, cinnamoylcocaine, and especially hygrine and cuscohygrine. In this work, two techniques for collecting biological samples are compared: the Quantisal® Oral Fluid collection device and passive drooling. Once the samples were collected, they were subjected to solid-phase extraction for subsequent injection into GC-MS. Different validation parameters included in international guides have been studied to evaluate whether the proposed method is valid for the defined purpose, placing special emphasis on the study of the matrix effect and little value on GC-MS analyses. With respect to this parameter, an increase in the signal was found for CUS and t-CIN, but it was not significant for the rest of the substances studied. The recoveries have varied significantly depending on the way of working, being higher when working with standardized areas. After carrying out work with the oral fluid samples collected from laboratory volunteers, the method was applied to two real samples. The results obtained support the need for further research to overcome certain limitations presented by the device.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela Cabarcos-Fernández
- Forensic Toxicology Service, Forensic Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Rúa de San Francisco, s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (P.C.-F.); (I.Á.-F.); (N.C.R.); (A.M.B.-B.); (I.S.-S.)
| | - Ivan Álvarez-Freire
- Forensic Toxicology Service, Forensic Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Rúa de San Francisco, s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (P.C.-F.); (I.Á.-F.); (N.C.R.); (A.M.B.-B.); (I.S.-S.)
| | - Nelida Cristina Rubio
- Forensic Toxicology Service, Forensic Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Rúa de San Francisco, s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (P.C.-F.); (I.Á.-F.); (N.C.R.); (A.M.B.-B.); (I.S.-S.)
| | - Ana Maria Bermejo-Barrera
- Forensic Toxicology Service, Forensic Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Rúa de San Francisco, s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (P.C.-F.); (I.Á.-F.); (N.C.R.); (A.M.B.-B.); (I.S.-S.)
| | - Antonio Moreda-Piñeiro
- Trace Element, Spectroscopy and Speciation Group (GETEE), Institute of Materials iMATUS, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology, Faculty of Chemistry, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Avenida das Ciencias, s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
| | - Ines Sánchez-Sellero
- Forensic Toxicology Service, Forensic Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Rúa de San Francisco, s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (P.C.-F.); (I.Á.-F.); (N.C.R.); (A.M.B.-B.); (I.S.-S.)
| | - Maria Jesus Tabernero-Duque
- Forensic Toxicology Service, Forensic Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Rúa de San Francisco, s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (P.C.-F.); (I.Á.-F.); (N.C.R.); (A.M.B.-B.); (I.S.-S.)
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Bertolini FM, Barolo E, Masti R, De Arcangeli S, Furlanello T, Ongaro V, Meneghini C, Sanchez Del Pulgar J. Fast and sensitive method for the diagnosis and follow-up of anticoagulant rodenticides poisoning in animal whole blood. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 2024; 1232:123971. [PMID: 38128166 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2023.123971] [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: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Rodent control strategies are primarily based on the use of anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs), making them widely used worldwide. However, due to their high toxicity and availability, ARs are among the leading causes of animal poisoning in Europe. They are the primary agents involved in intoxication in cats and the second in dogs. Additionally, their long persistence in the body can lead to secondary exposure, particularly in wild predators. The laboratory findings and clinical signs of intoxication can range from increased clotting time (prolonged prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time) to severe bleeding and death. Despite the prevalence and severity of this intoxication, only a few methods are available for the identification and quantification of ARs in animals, and most of them are suitable only for post-mortem diagnosis. In this study, we present the validation of a rapid and sensitive method for the identification and quantification of ARs in animal whole blood, using a small sample volume. The developed LC-MS/MS method demonstrated high accuracy and precision at the limit of quantification (LOQ), as well as at low, medium, and high concentrations. It exhibited higher sensitivity (LOQ 0.1 - 0.3 ng/mL) compared to previously published methods. After validation, the method was successfully applied to real cases of suspected poisoning events, resulting in the identification of several positive samples. The examples presented in this study highlight the utility of this method for diagnosis and follow-up, emphasizing the importance of method sensitivity in order to avoid misclassifying truly positive samples as negative.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elena Barolo
- San Marco Veterinary Clinic and Laboratory, Via dell'Industria 3, 35030 Veggiano (Padova), Italy
| | - Riccardo Masti
- San Marco Veterinary Clinic and Laboratory, Via dell'Industria 3, 35030 Veggiano (Padova), Italy
| | - Stefano De Arcangeli
- San Marco Veterinary Clinic and Laboratory, Via dell'Industria 3, 35030 Veggiano (Padova), Italy
| | - Tommaso Furlanello
- San Marco Veterinary Clinic and Laboratory, Via dell'Industria 3, 35030 Veggiano (Padova), Italy
| | - Valeria Ongaro
- San Marco Veterinary Clinic and Laboratory, Via dell'Industria 3, 35030 Veggiano (Padova), Italy
| | - Chiara Meneghini
- San Marco Veterinary Clinic and Laboratory, Via dell'Industria 3, 35030 Veggiano (Padova), Italy
| | - Jose Sanchez Del Pulgar
- San Marco Veterinary Clinic and Laboratory, Via dell'Industria 3, 35030 Veggiano (Padova), Italy.
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Kuwayama K, Miyaguchi H, Kanamori T, Tsujikawa K, Yamamuro T, Segawa H, Okada Y, Iwata YT. Effects of temperature, humidity, light, and soil on drug stability in hair: a preliminary study for estimating personal profiles using micro-segmental analysis of corpse hair. Forensic Toxicol 2024; 42:60-70. [PMID: 38055128 PMCID: PMC10808216 DOI: 10.1007/s11419-023-00675-9] [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: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Micro-segmental hair analysis (MSA), which enables detailed measurement of the distribution of drugs in a single hair strand, is useful for examining the day of death and drug use history of a person. However, corpses are often found in severe environments, such as soil and freezers, which affect the drug contents in hair. Therefore, we examined the effects of temperature, humidity, light, and soil on drug stability in hair as a preliminary study to estimate personal profiles using MSA of corpse hair. METHODS Four hay-fever medicines (fexofenadine, epinastine, cetirizine, and desloratadine) were used as model drugs to evaluate drug stability in hair. Reference hair strands consistently containing the four medicines along the hair shaft were collected from patients with hay-fever who ingested the medicines daily for 4 months. The hair strands were placed in chambers with controlled temperatures (- 30 to 60 °C) and relative humidities (ca. 18 % and > 90 %), exposed to light (sunlight and artificial lights) or buried in soil (natural soil and compost). RESULTS Sunlight and soil greatly decomposed the hair surfaces and decreased the drug contents in hair (up to 37 %). However, all analytes were successfully detected along the hair shaft, reflecting the intake history, even when the hair was exposed to sunlight for 2 weeks and buried in the soil for 2 months. CONCLUSIONS Although the exposure to sunlight and storage in soil for long times made drug-distribution analysis difficult, MSA could be applied even to hair strands collected from corpses left in severe environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji Kuwayama
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan.
| | - Hajime Miyaguchi
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
| | - Tatsuyuki Kanamori
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
| | - Kenji Tsujikawa
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
| | - Tadashi Yamamuro
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
| | - Hiroki Segawa
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
| | - Yuki Okada
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
| | - Yuko T Iwata
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
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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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Wang W, Liu X, Zhang P, Wang M, Han Y, Yan H. Simultaneous determination of three biomarkers of non-small cells lung cancer in urine by pipette-tip solid-phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr A 2023; 1711:464448. [PMID: 37852047 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464448] [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: 08/27/2023] [Revised: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Simultaneous determination of multiple biomarkers can improve the effectiveness and accuracy of cancer diagnosis. Cortisol, cortisone, and 4-methoxyphenylacetic acid (4-Me) are metabolic biomarker group with high specificity and sensitivity for the diagnosis of non-small cells lung cancer (NSCLC), and the development of their simultaneous determination method is desired. Herein, a simple, sensitive, and low-cost method involving pipette-tip solid-phase extraction (PT-SPE) using anion exchange adsorbent (MAX) coupled with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed for the simultaneous determination of three biomarkers (cortisol, cortisone, and 4-Me) in human urine. The sample (0.1 mL), adsorbent (1.5 mg) and organic reagent (3.5 mL) of MAX-PT-SPE are less consumed, and have the advantages of easy access to raw materials, simple assembly, convenient on-site instant extraction, low pollution, and low cost. The limits of detection of the three biomarkers were 0.006-0.024 ng mL-1, the recoveries of three spiked levels (2, 50, and 500 ng mL-1) were 91.0%-99.3%, with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) ≤ 5.9%. Finally, the MAX-PT-SPE-LC-MS/MS method achieved the quantitative analysis of cortisol, cortisone, and 4-Me in urine of different patients of NSCLC. This method is expected to be used in the non-invasive auxiliary diagnosis of NSCLC, and it provides a new strategy for multi-molecular diagnosis and multi-omics combined diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenyan Wang
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, School of Life Science, College of Public Health, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
| | - Xiaohan Liu
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, School of Life Science, College of Public Health, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
| | - Pengfei Zhang
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, School of Life Science, College of Public Health, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
| | - Mingyu Wang
- Department of Pharmacy, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China.
| | - Yehong Han
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, School of Life Science, College of Public Health, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
| | - Hongyuan Yan
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, School of Life Science, College of Public Health, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China; State Key Laboratory of New Pharmaceutical Preparations and Excipients, Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China.
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Arslan Z, Kartufan FF, Kuloglu Genc M, Battal D, Yayla M, Turkmen Z. An analytical approach to determining pethidine: An investigation of 18 patients' urine. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2023; 235:115670. [PMID: 37647794 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2023.115670] [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: 05/11/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Pethidine (PET) is an opioid pain-relief medicine with high addiction potential, especially among health professionals. Pethidine is commonly prescribed in Turkey as a pain-relieving medication for operative purposes. Due to its accessibility, low cost, user-friendliness, and effectiveness, PET is often misused by both healthcare professionals and patients. For this reason, analytical determination methods for PET abuse are essential in terms of forensic toxicology. In this study, a fast, reliable, and accurate gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed for the first time in Turkey for the simultaneous detection of PET and its main urinary metabolite norpethidine (NPET). The method was validated in terms of selectivity, linearity, the limit of detection (LOD), the limit of quantification (LOQ), trueness, and precision according to the Scientific Working Group for Forensic Toxicology guidelines. The linear range was between 0.125-25.00 μg/mL for PET and 1.00-20.00 μg/mL for NPET. The LOD values for PET and NPET were 0.05 µg/mL and 0.49 µg/mL, while the LOQ values were 0.125 µg/mL and 1.00 µg/mL, respectively. Extraction efficiencies were calculated as 113% for PET and 104% for NPET. The intra-assay and inter-assay precision results were within acceptable limits. In the presented study, the validated method was applied to the urine of 18 patients collected at the 1st and 3rd hours after receiving PET. All samples in the study were collected under patients' consent and in line with ethical guidelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeynep Arslan
- Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, The Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine, Department of Science, Istanbul, Turkey
| | | | - Merve Kuloglu Genc
- Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, The Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine, Department of Science, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Dilek Battal
- Mersin University, Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mersin, Turkey
| | - Murat Yayla
- Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, The Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine, Department of Science, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Zeynep Turkmen
- Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, The Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine, Department of Science, Istanbul, Turkey.
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Alqarni M, Iqbal M, Foudah AI, Aljarba TM, Abdel Bar F, Alshehri S, Shakeel F, Alam P. Quantification of Suvorexant in Human Urine Using a Validated HPTLC Bioanalytical Method. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:39928-39935. [PMID: 37901579 PMCID: PMC10601068 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c07123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023]
Abstract
Suvorexant (SUV) is a new sedative/hypnotic medicine that is recommended to treat insomnia. It is an important medicine from a forensic point of view due to its sedative/hypnotic and depressant effects. To the best of our knowledge, high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) bioanalytical methods have not been published to measure SUV in human urine and pharmaceutical samples. Accordingly, this study was designed and validated a sensitive and rapid bioanalytical HPTLC method to determine SUV in human urine samples for the very first time. The densitometric measurement of SUV and the internal standard (IS; sildenafil) was performed on glass-coated silica gel normal-phase-60F254S TLC plates using a mixture of chloroform and methanol (97.5:2.5 v/v) as the eluent system. Both the SUV and IS were detected at a wavelength of 254 nm. Both analytes were extracted using the protein precipitation technique utilizing methanol as the solvent. For the IS and SUV, the Rf values were 0.09 and 0.45, respectively. The proposed bioanalytical method for SUV was linear in the 50-1600 ng/band range. The current bioanalytical technique was linear, precise (% RSD = 3.28-4.20), accurate (% recovery = 97.58-103.80), robust (% recovery = 95.31-102.34 and % RSD = 2.81-3.15), rapid, and sensitive (LOD = 3.73 ng/band and LOQ = 11.20 ng/band). These findings suggested that the current bioanalytical method can be regularly used to determine SUV in wide varieties of urine samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed
H. Alqarni
- Department
of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Prince
Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
| | - Muzaffar Iqbal
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed I. Foudah
- Department
of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Prince
Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
| | - Tariq M. Aljarba
- Department
of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Prince
Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
| | - Fatma Abdel Bar
- Department
of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Prince
Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sultan Alshehri
- Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Ad Diriyah 13713, Saudi Arabia
| | - Faiyaz Shakeel
- Department
of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King
Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Prawez Alam
- Department
of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Prince
Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
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Ishii A, Sato K, Kusakabe K, Kato N, Wada T. Development of a quick preparation method for the analysis of 11-nor-9-carboxy-∆ 9-tetrahydrocannabinol in human urine by phenylboronic-acid solid-phase extraction. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2023; 234:115556. [PMID: 37422956 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2023.115556] [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: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
A rapid preparation method for the analysis of the urine from a cannabis user was established. Generally, 11-nor-9-carboxy-∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH), which is one of the main metabolites of ∆9-tetrahydorocannabinol (THC), must be detected from a user's urine to verify cannabis use. However, existing preparation methods are usually multistep and time-consuming processes. Before the analysis by liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), deconjugation by treatment with β-glucuronidase or alkaline solution, liquid-liquid extraction or solid-phase extraction (SPE), and evaporation are generally performed. In addition, subsequent derivatization (silylation or methylation) are certainly necessary for gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. Here, we focused on the phenylboronic-acid (PBA) SPE, which selectively binds compounds with a cis-diol moiety. THC-COOH is metabolized as a glucuronide conjugate (THC-COOGlu) which has cis-diol moieties, therefore, we investigated the conditions of its retention and elution to reduce the operating time. We developed four elution conditions, which afford the following derivatives: acidic elution for THC-COOGlu, alkaline elution for THC-COOH, methanolysis elution for the THC-COOH methyl ester (THC-COOMe), and methanolysis elution and following methyl etherification for O-methyl-THC-COOMe (O-Me-THC-COOMe). All repeatability and recovery rates were evaluated by LC-MS/MS in this study. As a result, these four pathways required short times (within 10-25 min) and exhibited good repeatability and recovery rates. Detection limits of pathway I-IV were 10.8, 1.7, 18.9, and 13.8 ng mL-1, respectively. Lower limits of quantification were 62.5, 31.25, 57.3, and 62.5 ng mL-1, respectively. When proof of cannabis use is required, any elution condition can be selected to match the possessing reference standards and analytical instruments. To our knowledge, this is the first report of using PBA SPE for the preparation of the urine samples containing cannabis and achieving partial derivatization when eluting from a PBA carrier. Our method can provide a new and practical solution for the preparation of the urine samples from cannabis users. Although the PBA SPE method cannot recover THC-COOH in urine because of its lack of a 1,2-diol moiety, this method has technological advantages for simplifying the process and reducing the operating time, thereby avoiding human errors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayumu Ishii
- Scientific Crime Laboratory, Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters, Japan
| | - Kazuki Sato
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Japan
| | - Kosuke Kusakabe
- Scientific Crime Laboratory, Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters, Japan
| | - Noriyuki Kato
- Scientific Crime Laboratory, Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters, Japan
| | - Takeshi Wada
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Japan.
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Li Z, Li Z, Xie W, Liu J, Li B, Liu W, Shi Y. Hair-based rapid UPLC-MS/MS analysis of 36 phencyclidine-type substances in forensic cases. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2023; 234:115577. [PMID: 37480824 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2023.115577] [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: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/24/2023]
Abstract
Phencyclidine (PCP) is a frequently abused dissociative agent. It causes confusion, increased tendencies toward violence, and concentration-dependent cytotoxicity after entry into the body. The parent nucleus of phencyclidine-type substances is arylcyclohexylamine, which is easy to modify; therefore, abusers and dealers can readily synthesize substitutes beyond the drug control catalog. An urgent need exists to establish screening methods for phencyclidine-type substances to provide technical support for abuse monitoring. In this study, 20 mg of hair was pulverized in 500 mL of methanol containing 0.5 ng/mL PCP-d5. After ultrasonication, centrifugation, and filtration, the supernatant was analyzed by ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) operating in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. Phencyclidine-type substances were separated in 13 min on a biphenyl column using a mobile phase gradient composed of A (water, formic acid 0.1%, acetonitrile 5%, 20 mmol/L ammonium acetate) and B (acetonitrile). The developed and validated method showed good selectivity, sensitivity (limit of detection: 0.25-2 pg/mg and lower limit of quantitation: 0.5-4 pg/mg), linearity (R2 > 0.994), accuracy, and precision (< 20%), and a dilution effect. The method also showed good recovery and acceptable matrix effects for most of the targeted compounds. This analytical approach was successfully applied for the identification and quantification of phencyclidine-type substances in hair from 87 authentic forensic cases. Nine analytes were detected: ketamine (10.3-26211.3 pg/mg), 2-F-2-oxo-PCE (11.5-4034.9 pg/mg), 2-FDCK (14.0-43290.2 pg/mg), 2-BrDCK (10.6-21170.0 pg/mg), nor2-FDCK (10.1-16767.4 pg/mg), tiletamine (10.1-3250.8 pg/mg), O-PCE (43.3-166.1 pg/mg), DCK (10.2-90.4 pg/mg), and norDCK (24.9-103.0 pg/mg).
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Affiliation(s)
- 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, PR China; School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, PR 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, PR China; School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, PR China
| | - 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, PR China; School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, PR 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, PR China
| | - Bo Li
- School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, PR China
| | - Wei 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, PR 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, PR China.
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Goulart COL, Nascentes CC, Costa LM. The impact of lipid degradation on fingerprint quality on fired firearm cartridges. J Forensic Sci 2023; 68:1713-1720. [PMID: 37493034 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.15342] [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: 11/29/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
The recovery of identifiable fingerprints from fired cartridge cases is challenging. Therefore, the characterization of chemical modifications and their effects on fingerprint integrity post-firing is essential. In this study, the primary fingerprint lipids, including myristic acid, pentadecanoic acid, palmitoleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, squalene, and cholesterol in fired and unfired cartridges, were extracted with acetonitrile, followed by derivatization using N,O-Bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide with 1% trimethylchlorosilane (BSTFA/1%TMCS). Squalane was used as the internal standard, and all quantifications were performed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry using a triple-quadrupole mass filter. All lipids identified in the unfired cartridges were also detected in the fired cartridges, and statistical analysis using Student's t-test and F tests was performed with a 95% confidence level. The concentration of lipids in the unfired cartridges was found to be similar to that detected in the fired cartridges, except for squalene, the recovery of which was 28% lower in the fired cartridges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristiano O L Goulart
- LEAQUAA, Departamento de Química - Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Instituto Médico Legal André Roquette, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Clésia C Nascentes
- LEAQUAA, Departamento de Química - Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Letícia M Costa
- LEAQUAA, Departamento de Química - Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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García-Caballero C, Martínez-González MA. Children victims of drug abuser parents: Hair testing as a forensic tool to assess exposure-A cohort of 37 cases from Spain. Drug Test Anal 2023; 15:941-952. [PMID: 37041115 DOI: 10.1002/dta.3478] [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: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
Hair testing is a useful tool to investigate suspected pediatric exposure to drugs of abuse. Newborns and young children are at high risk of exposure to drugs of abuse from parents or caregivers who consumed these substances, a fact prosecuted by Spanish authorities as child abuse. A retrospective study based on a cohort of 37 cases classified using several parameters, which involve children under 12 years old, were analyzed at the Drugs Laboratory of the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences (Madrid, Spain) between 2009 and 2021. Hair samples were tested for the presence of opiates, cocaine, ketamine, amphetamines, methadone, and cannabis using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. A 59% of the studied children had ages in the range of 1-3 years old, and in 81% of cases, victims required hospitalization. In 81% of cases (n = 30), hair was submitted only or in combination with other samples, and these were classified in four categories according to analyzed samples: A (only hair), B (hair and blood), C (hair and urine), and D (hair, blood, and urine). The 93.3% of these cases (n = 28) showed a positive result of cannabinoids (THC and CBN in hair and THC-COOH in urine; 71.4% n = 20), cocaine and metabolites (benzoylecgonine and cocaethylene; 46.4% n = 13), opiates (morphine and 6-acetylmorphine), and amphetamines (MDMA and MDMA; 3.10% n = 1). Hair analysis matched positive results in cases where urine screening test was carried out previously (n = 24) and in those cases where blood and/or urine were also submitted (35.6% n = 11). As a conclusion, hair analysis was confirmed as a useful tool to detect previous exposure to acute poisoning events in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos García-Caballero
- Drugs Department, National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences, Justice Ministry, Madrid, Spain
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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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45
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Mernissi T, Demagny J, Le Guyader M, Renou M, Choukroun G, Kamel S, Liabeuf S, Bodeau S. Quantitative determination of plasma free and total concentrations of antivitamin K drugs using a new sensitive and rapid LC-MS/MS method: Application in hemodialysis patients. Clin Chim Acta 2023; 548:117498. [PMID: 37482192 DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2023.117498] [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: 05/06/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) are the first-line anticoagulants used in end stage renal disease. This population experiences a significant variability in their International Normalized Ratio (INR) over time. There is a need for methods allowing the study of the pharmacokinetics of free and total concentrations of VKAs to explain INR variability. MATERIALS AND METHODS We developed and validated a high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method allowing the quantification of warfarin and fluindione free and total plasma concentrations. Chromatographic separation was achieved in a raptor biphenyl column and the spectrometry acquisition was set in multiple reaction monitoring mode after negative electrospray ionization. We then applied it in describing the plasma free and total concentrations of VKAs in samples from 50 hemodialysis patients. RESULTS The developed method is rapid, sensitive and specific. Our cohort results showed a correlation between free and total VKA concentrations. The free VKA concentrations tended to be higher in patients with higher INR. Although VKAs are highly albumin-bound drugs, albumin concentration did not totally explain the high inter-individual total VKA concentrations variability. CONCLUSION This opens the door to further studies to understand the factors involved in their variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Touria Mernissi
- MP3CV Laboratory, EA7517, Jules Verne University of Picardie, Amiens, F-80000 Amiens, France; Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Amiens University Medical Center, F-80000 Amiens, France
| | - Julien Demagny
- Department of Hematology, Amiens University Medical Center, F-80000 Amiens, France
| | - Mailys Le Guyader
- Department of Hematology, Amiens University Medical Center, F-80000 Amiens, France
| | - Marianne Renou
- Department of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, Amiens University Medical Center, F-80000 Amiens, France
| | - Gabriel Choukroun
- MP3CV Laboratory, EA7517, Jules Verne University of Picardie, Amiens, F-80000 Amiens, France; Department of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, Amiens University Medical Center, F-80000 Amiens, France
| | - Saïd Kamel
- MP3CV Laboratory, EA7517, Jules Verne University of Picardie, Amiens, F-80000 Amiens, France; Department of Biochemistry, Amiens University Medical Center, F-80000 Amiens, France
| | - Sophie Liabeuf
- MP3CV Laboratory, EA7517, Jules Verne University of Picardie, Amiens, F-80000 Amiens, France; Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Amiens University Medical Center, F-80000 Amiens, France
| | - Sandra Bodeau
- MP3CV Laboratory, EA7517, Jules Verne University of Picardie, Amiens, F-80000 Amiens, France; Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Amiens University Medical Center, F-80000 Amiens, France.
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Yang FS, Lee HH, Tseng LP, Lee YH, Lan YS, Lee YC, Chou YC, Lin YC. Simultaneous Determination and Stability Analysis of Ten New Psychoactive Substances including Synthetic Cathinones, Phenethylamines, and Ketamine Substitutes in Urine Using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Int J Anal Chem 2023; 2023:9895595. [PMID: 37492520 PMCID: PMC10365918 DOI: 10.1155/2023/9895595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Knowing the stability of drugs is important to ensure accurate and reliable results of drug concentrations. This study evaluated the stability of ten new psychoactive substances (NPSs) in urine and methanol/water at different storage temperatures. Quantitative analyses were performed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Three replicates of each storage condition were analyzed at day 0 and after 7, 14-, 30-, 60-, and 90 days with storage at +25°C, +4°C, and -20°C. For each analyte, the percent difference at each time interval from day 0 was calculated for each storage condition. Para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA), para-methoxymethamphetamine (PMMA), deschloroketamine (DCK), and 2-fluorodeschloroketamine (2-FDCK) were stable in urine, even when stored for 90-day periods at various temperatures. For synthetic cathinones, the concentrations declined over time at room temperature (+25°C) in urine but were relatively stable in methanol solvent with 0.1% formic acid. The significant degradation was found at +25°C, and the most excellent stability was shown by samples stored at -20°C. Phenethylamines (PMA and PMMA) and ketamine substitutes (DCK and 2-FDCK) were relatively more stable than synthetic cathinones (mephedrone, butylone, pentylone, ephylone, 4-MEAPP, and eutylone).
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng-Shuo Yang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Department of Medicinal and Applied Chemistry, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Hei-Hwa Lee
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Li-Ping Tseng
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Hung Lee
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Sheng Lan
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Cheng Lee
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Cheng Chou
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Ching Lin
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Doctoral Degree Program of Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
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Niu W, Ren T, Wang Y, Wang Z, Zhang C, Jia J, Wei Z, Su H, Guo Z, Guo X, Yun K. Forensic toxicokinetics of difenidol hydrochloride in vivo verified by practical lethal cases. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11190. [PMID: 37433899 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38246-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method for the determination of difenidol hydrochloride in biological specimens has been developed. The method exhibited excellent recovery (> 90%) and precision (RSD < 10%), and the LOD was 0.05 μg/mL or μg/g, which met the requirements of bioanalytical method. Through the animal model of the forensic toxicokinetics, the dynamic distribution, postmortem redistribution (PMR) and stability in specimen preservation process of difenidol in animals were studied. The experimental results showed that after intragastric administration, the difenidol's concentrations in the heart-blood and various organs increased over time except stomach, and then decreased gradually after reaching the peaks of concentration. The toxicological kinetics equation and toxicokinetic parameters were established by processing the data of the mean drug concentration of difenidol changing with time. In PMR experiment, the concentrations of difenidol in some organs closer to the gastrointestinal tract (heart-blood, heart, liver, lung, kidney, and spleen) changed significantly at different time points. But the concentration of difenidol in brain tissues which were far away from the gastrointestinal tract and muscles with larger overall mass was relatively stable. PMR of difenidol was therefore confirmed. Thus, the effect of PMR on the concentration of difenidol in the specimens should be considered in cases involving difenidol poisoning or death. Furthermore, the stability of difenidol in heart-blood samples from poisoned rats was investigated at various time points and under different preservation conditions (20 °C, 4 °C, - 20 °C and 20 °C (1% NaF)) for a period of two months. Difenidol was stable and did not decompose in the preserved blood. Therefore, this study provided the experimental basis for the forensic identification of the cases of difenidol hydrochloride poisoning (death). PMR has been verified by practical lethal cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weifen Niu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology of Ministry of Public Security, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Tongxi Ren
- Institute of Forensic Science of Tianjin Public Security Bureau, Tianjin, 300384, People's Republic of China
| | - Yandan Wang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology of Ministry of Public Security, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Zheyu Wang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology of Ministry of Public Security, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Chao Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology of Ministry of Public Security, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Juan Jia
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology of Ministry of Public Security, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhiwen Wei
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology of Ministry of Public Security, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongliang Su
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology of Ministry of Public Security, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhongyuan Guo
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology of Ministry of Public Security, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiangjie Guo
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology of Ministry of Public Security, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Keming Yun
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology of Ministry of Public Security, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.
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Efeoglu Ozseker P, Yucel SP, Daglioglu N. Optimization of biochip assay for illegal substances on drug abusers' whole blood: Randox Evidence vs LC-MS/MS. J Immunoassay Immunochem 2023; 44:313-325. [PMID: 36921120 DOI: 10.1080/15321819.2023.2189451] [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] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
Immunoassay tests are used in clinical and forensic toxicology laboratories to determine illicit drug use in biological samples. Therefore, this study aims to optimize the cutoff concentrations of DOA I Plus in the blood and compare the LC-MS/MS results. 680 authentic forensic whole blood specimens with Randox Evidence DOA I Plus array were screened for drug of abuse and confirmed by LC-MS/MS. Regarding the manufacturer recommended threshold values, 139 out of 680 authentic blood samples were positive for one or more analytes, while 541 were negative. Nearly all of the 139 positive blood samples confirmed by LC-MS/MS were true positive for one or more analytes, while 522 of the 541 negative blood samples were true negative. The overall sensitivity and the specificity were 87.8% and 99.6%, respectively. THC was considered in detail, and a receiver operator characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine the optimum cutoff for THC, as it accounts for 78% of all positive results according to the manufacturer's recommended thresholds. The optimal threshold value for THC was determined at a concentration of 23 ng/mL, while these values for other parameters were defined as recommended by the manufacturer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pinar Efeoglu Ozseker
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey
| | - Sevinc Puren Yucel
- Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey
| | - Nebile Daglioglu
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey
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Rodrigues CHP, Mariotto LS, Castro JS, Peruquetti PH, Silva-Junior NC, Bruni AT. Acute, chronic, and post-mortem toxicity: a review focused on three different classes of new psychoactive substances. Forensic Toxicol 2023; 41:187-212. [PMID: 36604359 DOI: 10.1007/s11419-022-00657-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE New psychoactive substances (NPS) are not controlled under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 or the 1971 Convention, but they may pose a public health threat. Knowledge of the main properties and toxicological effects of these substances is lacking. According to the current Drugs Law (Law n. 11.343/2006), the Brazilian Surveillance Agency issues directives for forbidden substances in Brazil, and structural classes of synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, and phenylethylamines are considered illicit drugs. Considering that data on these controlled substances are scattered, the main objective of this work was to collect and organize data to generate relevant information on the toxicological properties of NPS. METHODS We carried out a literature review collecting information on the acute, chronic, and post-mortem toxicity of these classes of NSP. We searched info in five scientific databases considering works from 2017 to 2021 and performed a statistical evaluation of the data. RESULTS Results have shown a general lack of studies in this field given that many NPS have not had their toxicity evaluated. We observed a significant difference in the volume of data concerning acute and chronic/post-mortem toxicity. Moreover, studies on the adverse effects of polydrug use are scarce. CONCLUSIONS More in-depth information about the main threats involving NPS use are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caio H P Rodrigues
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
- INCT Forense - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Lívia S Mariotto
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
- INCT Forense - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Jade S Castro
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
- INCT Forense - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Paulo H Peruquetti
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Newton C Silva-Junior
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
- INCT Forense - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Aline T Bruni
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil.
- INCT Forense - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil.
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Kuwayama K, Miyaguchi H, Kanamori T, Tsujikawa K, Yamamuro T, Segawa H, Okada Y, Iwata YT. Evaluation of applicability of micro-segmental analysis to hair treated with heat and haircare products. Forensic Toxicol 2023; 41:260-271. [PMID: 37060498 DOI: 10.1007/s11419-023-00663-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2023] [Indexed: 04/16/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Micro-segmental analysis (MSA), which enables the measurement of detailed drug distributions in hair by segmenting a single hair strand at 0.4 mm intervals, is indispensable for estimating the day of drug ingestion. However, haircare with dryers and various products can influence drug concentrations in hair. Therefore, the applicability of MSA to hair that was treated with heat or various haircare products was evaluated. METHODS Reference hair strands containing drugs consistently along the hair shafts were collected from patients who ingested four hay-fever medicines (fexofenadine, epinastine, cetirizine, and loratadine) daily for 4 months. The hair strands were divided into eight 4 mm regions from the proximal end, and each region was placed on an electric hot plate at 100-200 °C or soaked in haircare products, such as shampoo and bleaching agent. The hair regions were subjected to MSA. Moreover, after a patient was administered midazolam at a single dose and the hair was bleached, the day of midazolam administration was estimated using MSA. RESULTS Repetitive heating for 1 min and daily haircare products, such as shampoo, hardly affected the drugs in hair, whereas bleaching products containing H2O2 decreased the amounts of hay-fever medicines in the hair up to 58%. However, the amount of midazolam did not decrease in bleached hair and the day of midazolam administration was successfully estimated. CONCLUSIONS The analytes used in this study were minimally affected by ordinary haircare and could be detected even in bleached hair. Therefore, MSA can be applicable regardless of haircare history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji Kuwayama
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan.
| | - Hajime Miyaguchi
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
| | - Tatsuyuki Kanamori
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
| | - Kenji Tsujikawa
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
| | - Tadashi Yamamuro
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
| | - Hiroki Segawa
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
| | - Yuki Okada
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
| | - Yuko T Iwata
- National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-0882, Japan
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