Abstract
In the last few years, liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS) has been increasingly used for screening purposes in forensic toxicology. These techniques have the advantages of low time/resource-consuming and high versatility and have been applied in numerous new multi-analytes methods. The new psychoactive substance (NPS) phenomenon provided a great impulse to this wide-range approach, but it is also important to keep the attention on “classical” psychoactive substances, such as benzodiazepines (BDZ). In this paper, a fully validated screening method in blood for the simultaneous detection of 163 substances (120 NPS and 43 other drugs) by a dynamic multiple reaction monitoring analysis through LC-MS/MS is described. The method consists of a deproteinization of 200 µL of blood with acetonitrile. The LC separation is achieved with a 100 mm long C18 column in 35 min. The method was very sensitive, with limits of quantification from 0.02 to 1.5 ng/mL. Matrix effects did not negatively affect the analytical sensitivity. This method proved to be reliable and was successfully applied to our routinary analytical activity in several forensic caseworks, allowing the identification and quantification of many BDZs and 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV).
Highlights
Published: 17 November 2021The increasing number and variety of substances of interest for Forensic Toxicology has required the development of new multi-analyte detection methods
Besides the traditional screening tests, which are affected by low specificity and sensitivity, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) systems are the broadest used techniques for general unknown analyses [1,2,3]
LC-MS/MS has proven to be less demanding than GC-MS for sample preparation, which can consist in a liquid–liquid extraction (LLE), in a protein precipitation (PP) or even in a dilution and direct injection without the need for removal of the aqueous phase [5,6,7,8]
Summary
The increasing number and variety of substances of interest for Forensic Toxicology has required the development of new multi-analyte detection methods. These procedures are very effective tools for identifying and quantifying larger ranges of compounds through single sample extractions, with low time and resource consumption. GC-MS analyses are limited to thermostable compounds and require longer sample treatment procedures that often involve derivatization steps [4]. In recent years, these drawbacks of GC-MS have been overcome by the liquid chromatography with tandem MS (LC-MS/MS). The derivatization step is not Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
