Simultaneous Determination of Multiple Drugs of Abuse and Relevant Metabolites in Urine by LC-MS-MS

• Published in: Journal of analytical toxicology Vol. 31; no. 7; pp. 359 - 368
• Main Authors: Feng, June, Wang, Lanqing, Dai, Ingrid, Harmon, Tia, Bernert, John T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Niles, IL Oxford University Press 01.09.2007; Preston
• Subjects: Analgesics, Opioid - metabolism; Analgesics, Opioid - urine; Analysis; Barbiturates - metabolism; Barbiturates - urine; Benzodiazepines - metabolism; Benzodiazepines - urine; Biological and medical sciences; Cannabinoids - metabolism; Cannabinoids - urine; Chromatography, Liquid - methods; Cocaine - metabolism; Cocaine - urine; Drug addictions; General pharmacology; Humans; Medical sciences; Methadone - metabolism; Methadone - urine; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Phencyclidine - metabolism; Phencyclidine - urine; Reproducibility of Results; Solid Phase Extraction; Street Drugs - urine; Substance Abuse Detection - methods; Tandem Mass Spectrometry - methods; Toxicology; Drug; Urine; Validation; Solid phase extraction; Biological fluid; Automation; Chemical analysis; Atmospheric pressure; Metabolite; Coupled method; Psychotropic; HPLC chromatography; Medical screening; Electrospray; Chemical enrichment; Multicomponent analysis; Sample preparation; Mass spectrometry MS/MS; Simultaneous measurement; Drug of abuse
• ISSN: 0146-4760; 1945-2403
• DOI: 10.1093/jat/31.7.359

A method was developed for the quantitative analysis of 30 drugs of abuse and their metabolites in urine, including opiates, barbiturates, amphetamines, cocaine, cannabinoids, phencyclidine, methadone, and benzodiazepines. This method uses solid-phase extraction (SPE) on an Oasis® HLB column followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Analytes were quantified by multiple reaction monitoring with the deuterated analogues as internal standards, using an atmospheric pressure ionization-electrospray interface. The method was validated by examining specificity, precision, accuracy, linearity, recovery, reproducibility, and detection limits. The limits of detection ranged from 9 pg/mL to 2.29 ng/mL in urine depending on the analyte. The SPE procedure was automated on a RapidTrace® workstation to increase analytical throughput, and the results obtained via automated SPE were compared to those obtained by manual SPE to examine carryover effect, precision, accuracy, recovery, and reproducibility. To evaluate method performance, 108 urine samples were collected anonymously and tested for the presence of these drugs.