A Comparison of the Validity of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Urine Samples II: Amphetamine, Methamphetamine, (±)-3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine, (±)-3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, (±)-3,4-Methylenedioxyethylamphetamine, Phencyclidine, and (±)-11-nor-9-Carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol

• Published in: Journal of analytical toxicology Vol. 34; no. 8; pp. 430 - 443
• Main Authors: Stout, Peter R., Bynum, Nichole D., Lewallen, Cynthia M., Mitchell, John M., Baylor, Michael R., Ropero-Miller, Jeri D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.10.2010
• Subjects: 3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine - analogs & derivatives; 3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine - urine; Amphetamine - urine; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Dronabinol - analogs & derivatives; Dronabinol - urine; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry - methods; Methamphetamine - urine; Phencyclidine - urine; Reproducibility of Results; Street Drugs - urine; Substance Abuse Detection - methods; Tandem Mass Spectrometry - methods
• ISSN: 0146-4760; 1945-2403
• DOI: 10.1093/jat/34.8.430

On November 25, 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services posted a final notice in the Federal Register authorizing the use of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) and other technologies in federally regulated workplace drug testing (WPDT) programs. To support this change, it is essential to explicitly demonstrate that LC-MS-MS, as a technology, can produce results at least as valid as gas chromatography (GC)-MS, the long-accepted standard in confirmatory analytical technologies for drugs of abuse. A series of manufactured control urine samples (n = 10 for each analyte) containing amphetamine, methamphetamine, (±)-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, (±)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, (±)-3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine, phencyclidine, and (±)-11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol at concentrations ranging from 10% to 2000% of federal cutoffs were analyzed with replication by five federally regulated laboratories using GC-MS and at RTI International using LC-MS-MS. Interference samples as described in the National Laboratory Certification Program 2009 Manual were analyzed by GC-MS and LC-MS-MS as well as previously confirmed urine specimens of WPDT origin. Matrix effects were assessed for LC-MS-MS. Results indicated that LC-MS-MS analysis produced results at least as precise, accurate, and specific as GC-MS for the analytes investigated in this study. Matrix effects, while evident, could be controlled by the use of matrix-matched controls and calibrators with deuterated internal standards.