Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Mar;65(2):563-569.
doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.14179. Epub 2019 Sep 9.

Simultaneous Quantitative Determination of Amphetamines, Opiates, Ketamine, Cocaine and Metabolites in Human Hair: Application to Forensic Cases of Drug Abuse

Yue Zhuo #  1   2 , Xin Wang #  2 , Jingjie Wu  1 , Sujing Zhang  2 , Hongxiao Deng  2 , Wei Liu  2 , Hejian Wu  2 , Ping Xiang  2 , Min Shen  2
Affiliations

Simultaneous Quantitative Determination of Amphetamines, Opiates, Ketamine, Cocaine and Metabolites in Human Hair: Application to Forensic Cases of Drug Abuse

Yue Zhuo et al. J Forensic Sci. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

A method using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to simultaneously quantify amphetamines, opiates, ketamine, cocaine, and metabolites in human hair is described. Hair samples (50 mg) were extracted with methanol utilizing cryogenic grinding. Calibration curves for all the analytes were established in the concentration range 0.05-10 ng/mg. The recoveries were above 72%, except for AMP at the limit of quantification (LOQ), which was 48%. The accuracies were within ±20% at the LOQ (0.05 ng/mg) and between -11% and 13.3% at 0.3 and 9.5 ng/mg, respectively. The intraday and interday precisions were within 19.6% and 19.8%, respectively. A proficiency test was applied to the validated method with z-scores within ±2, demonstrating the accuracy of the method for the determination of drugs of abuse in the hair of individuals suspected of abusing drugs. The hair concentration ranges, means, and medians are summarized for abused drugs in 158 authentic cases.

Keywords: amphetamines; cocaine; forensic science; forensic toxicology; hair analysis; ketamine; liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; metabolite-to-drug concentration ratio; opiates.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Pragst F, Balikova MA. State of the art in hair analysis for detection of drug and alcohol abuse. Clin Chim Acta 2006;370(1-2):17-49.
    1. Barroso M, Gallardo E, Vieira DN, Lopez-Rivadulla M, Queiroz JA. Hair: a complementary source of bioanalytical information in forensic toxicology. Bioanalysis 2011;3(1):67-79.
    1. Pan M, Wang X, Zhao Y, Liu W, Xiang P. A retrospective analysis of data from forensic toxicology at the Academy of Forensic Science in 2017. Forensic Sci Int 2019;298:39-47.
    1. Leung KW, Wong ZCF, Ho JYM, Yip AWS, Cheung JKH, Ho KKL, et al. Surveillance of drug abuse in Hong Kong by hair analysis using LC-MS/MS. Drug Test Anal 2018;10(6):977-83.
    1. Pan MR, Qiang HS, Shen BH, Yan H, Xiang P. Rapid determination of cocaine and Its metabolite benzoylecgonine in hair by LC-MS/MS. Fa Yi Xue Za Zhi 2018;34(4):375-8.

Publication types