Towards a Comprehensive Sample Treatment Workflow for Determination of Multi-Class Drugs of Abuse in Hair by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

19 Pages Posted: 28 Jan 2022

See all articles by Noelia Caballero-Casero

Noelia Caballero-Casero

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Gedifew Nigatu Beza

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Soledad Rubio

Universidad de Córdoba

Abstract

Hair is becoming a main matrix for forensic drug analyses due to its large detection window compared to traditional matrices (i.e. urine & blood) and the possibility of establishing the temporal pattern of drug consumption. However, the extremely time- and solvent-consuming nature of conventional sample treatments render it difficult the routine use of hair analysis in forensics. In this paper, this drawback was intended to be addressed by the use of hexanol-based supramolecular solvents (SUPRAS) with restricted-access properties. The aim was to develop a fast and interference-free sample treatment workflow for the determination of opioids, cocaine, amphetamines and their metabolites in human hair. The main variables affecting the extraction were optimized and the method was validated following the European Medical Agency guideline. Major advantages of the proposed method were the straightforward sample preparation, which combines a high extraction yield (93-107%) and matrix effect removal (93-102 %SSE) in a single step, the high sample throughput, and the reduced volume of organic solvent required (100 µL of SUPRAS per sample), which makes sample treatment cost-effective and eco-friendly. Method quantification limits were lower enough for all the target drugs (0.48-1.14 pg mg-1) to allow their quantitation in human hair routine analyses. The method was successfully applied to the determination of drugs in a human hair control sample.

Keywords: Hair analysis, abuse drugs, supramolecular solvent, microextraction, liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

Suggested Citation

Caballero-Casero, Noelia and Beza, Gedifew Nigatu and Rubio, Soledad, Towards a Comprehensive Sample Treatment Workflow for Determination of Multi-Class Drugs of Abuse in Hair by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4020078 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4020078

Noelia Caballero-Casero (Contact Author)

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Gedifew Nigatu Beza

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Soledad Rubio

Universidad de Córdoba ( email )

Km 1, Vía a Chinú.
Lorica, CO Córdoba 231020595
Colombia

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