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Simultaneous quantification of opiates, amphetamines, cocaine and metabolites and diazepam and metabolite in a single hair sample using GC-MS.

Cordero R, Paterson S

Toxicology Unit, Imperial College London, St. Dunstan's Road, London W6 8RP, United Kingdom.

A method is described for the simultaneous identification and quantification of opiates, amphetamines, cocainics, diazepam and nordiazepam from one hair extract (typically 10-50mg hair). After decontamination by washing with shampoo, dichloromethane, isopropanol and acetone, drugs were extracted using 0.1M HCl followed by SPE clean-up using mixed-mode extraction cartridges. The SPE extracts were submitted to a two-step derivatisation using MBTFA and MSTFA+1% TCMS and analysis was performed by GC-MS using both SIM and scan modes. Four deuterated standards were used to monitor 14 compounds. The limit of quantification was the total drug detected from the sample. This was 5 ng for amphetamines and 10 ng for remaining drugs which is equivalent to 0.1 and 0.2 ng/mg from a 50mg sample. Standard curves for the range 5-400 ng total drug concentration for all drugs had regression coefficients greater than 0.98. An authentic hair sample was used to validate the method and gave R.S.D.s <25% for both inter and intra-day reproducibility. The results of the analysis of hair taken from four patients attending a drug treatment clinic and six hair samples including head hair, pubic hair, axial hair and beard taken at post-mortem are presented.

Published 30 April 2007 in J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci, 850(1): 423-31.
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