Stereoselective screening for and confirmation of urinary enantiomers of amphetamine, methamphetamine, designer drugs, methadone and selected metabolites by capillary electrophoresis

Abstract

Data presented in this paper demonstrate that a competitive binding, electrokinetic capillary-based immunoassay previously used for screening of urinary amphetamine and analogs cannot be employed to distinguish between the enantiomers of amphetamine and methamphetamine. However, capillary zone electrophoresis with a pH 2.5 buffer containing (2-hydroxypropyl)-beta-cyclodextrin as chiral selector is shown to permit the enantioselective analysis of urinary extracts containing methamphetamine, amphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Ecstasy) and other designer drugs, and methadone together with its major metabolite, 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine. In that approach, enantiomer identification is based upon comparison of extracted polychrome UV absorption data and electropherograms obtained by rerunning of spiked extracts with spectra and electropherograms monitored after extraction of fortified blank urine. The suitability of the described chiral electrokinetic capillary method for drug screening and confirmation is demonstrated via analysis of unhydrolyzed quality control urines containing a variety of drugs of abuse. Furthermore, in a urine of a patient under selegiline pharmacotherapy, the presence of the R-(-)-enantiomers of methamphetamine and amphetamine could be unambiguously identified. Direct intake of an R-enantiomer or ingestion of drugs that metabolize to the R-enantiomers can be distinguished from the intake of S-(+)-enantiomers (drug abuse) or prescribed drugs that metabolize to the S-enantiomers of methamphetamine and amphetamine. The described approach is simple, reproducible, inexpensive and reliable (free of interferences of other major basic drugs that are frequently found in toxicological urines) and could thus be used for screening for and confirmation of urinary enantiomers in a routine laboratory.