Development, validation and evaluation of a quantitative method for the analysis of twenty-four new psychoactive substances in oral fluid by LC–MS/MS

• Published in: Forensic chemistry Vol. 19; p. 100231
• Main Authors: Cooman, Travon, Santos, Heloa, Cox, Joseph, Filho, João Francisco Allochio, Borges, Keyller Bastos, Romão, Wanderson, Arroyo-Mora, Luis E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2020
• Subjects: LC–MS/MS; Method validation; NPS; Oral fluid; Solid phase extraction; NPS; Solid phase extraction; Oral fluid; Method validation; LC–MS/MS
• ISSN: 2468-1709; 2468-1709
• DOI: 10.1016/j.forc.2020.100231

[Display omitted] •Solid phase extraction and quantification of 24 new psychoactive substances in oral fluid.•Full method validation using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer.•Evaluation of method using blind verification study. The use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) has been recognized worldwide at an alarming rate. Oral fluid collection is becoming more prevalent as a matrix for evaluating drug consumption. In this study, a specific, quick and non-invasive method for detection and quantitation of twenty-four synthetic cannabinoids and cathinone derivatives, including ten not previously reported NPS in oral fluid was performed. A quantitative method was developed on a liquid chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer system operated in dynamic multiple reaction monitoring (dMRM) mode using solid phase extraction (SPE) as pre-concentration step. Analytical separation of the target drugs was reached in a total elution time of 10 min. The developed method was validated according to the ASB standard 036. Overall bias and precision of the method were within ±20% for twenty-three compounds. All drugs showed acceptable linearity with R2 values greater than 0.98, and LLOQ values of 0.25 ng/mL and 1.0 ng/mL for selected NPS. The overall bias for a performed blind verification study was 7%. Our results demonstrate the method is suitable for quantifying NPS in oral fluid through solid phase extraction and analysis using LC–MS/MS.