Determination of drugs in hair using GC/MS/MS

Abstract

An important task for the forensic toxicologist and expert witness is the detection of the noxa in biological matrices. Because of this, the identification and quantification of residues of illegal drugs in human hair is still of growing interest. Utilizing the advantages of GC/MS/MS testing human hair is performed for most common drugs of abuse like heroin and other opioides, cocaine, cannabis and amphetamine derivatives. Analyzing hair specimens for substances that present a toxicological risk is another challenge. Several quality control parameters must be observed to avoid false positive or false negative results and to gain additional information. Blank sample, blank hair as well as the combined wash extracts are tested for the presence of the relevant compounds within every series. Careful evaluation of the findings can provide an approximate measure of the intensity of drug use in the majority of cases.