Simultaneous determination of drugs and pesticides in postmortem blood using dispersive solid-phase extraction and large volume injection-programmed temperature vaporization-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Abstract

A d-SPE protocol followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis using large volume injection–programmed temperature vaporization (LVI–PTV) was optimized for simultaneous quantification of 14 pesticides, drugs of abuse, prescription drugs and metabolites in human postmortem blood without derivatization. The validated method showed good repeatability, linearity, intermediate precision, and recovery. LOQs were 0.02 or 0.03μg/mL. The method showed to be fast and easy-to-implement in a forensic laboratory and was satisfactorily applied for the analysis of 10 postmortem blood real samples. Six samples contained cocaine (0.04–3.13μg/mL), two 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine hydrochloride (MDMA, 0.04–0.09μg/mL) and two carbamazepine (0.08–0.98μg/mL). Other analytes found were carbofuran (27.3μg/mL), the metabolite 7-aminoflunitrazepam (1.12μg/mL), amitriptyline (0.21μg/mL) and diazepam (0.03μg/mL).