Detection of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) in Urine by Gas Chromatography-Ion Trap Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Journal of Analytical Toxicology – October 01, 1999
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
A highly sensitive method for detecting lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in urine achieved detection limits of 20 pg/mL and quantitation limits of 80 pg/mL using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS-MS). Analyzing 5 mL of urine through solid-phase extraction, the method demonstrated linearity over a concentration range of 20-2000 pg/mL with an impressive correlation coefficient of 0.999. Intraday and interday variability were minimal, with coefficients of variation under 6% and 13%, respectively, ensuring reliable results for quality-control specimens and LSD-positive samples.
Abstract
A confirmatory method for the detection and quantitation of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is presented. The method employs gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS-MS) using an internal ionization ion trap detector for sensitive MS-MS-in-time measurements of LSD extracted from urine. Following a single-step solid-phase extraction of 5 mL of urine, underivatized LSD can be measured with limits of quantitation and detection of 80 and 20 pg/mL, respectively. Temperature-programmed on-column injections of urine extracts were linear over the concentration range 20-2000 pg/mL (r2 = 0.999). Intraday and interday coefficients of variation were < 6% and < 13%, respectively. This procedure has been applied to quality-control specimens and LSD-positive samples in this laboratory. Comparisons with alternate GC-MS methods and extraction procedures are discussed.