Validation and application of a method for the quantification of 137 drugs of abuse and new psychoactive substances in hair.
Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis June 15, 2024 Rossella Barone, Guido Pelletti, Arianna Giorgetti et al. 22 citations
A new method using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry can detect and quantify 122 new psychoactive substances (NPS) and 15 classical drugs of abuse (DoA) in hair samples. The method was validated according to European Medicines Agency guidelines and applied to 22 authentic forensic hair samples. Among these, 17 tested positive for DoA and 10 for NPS, with most samples showing co-occurrence of both. Detected NPS included ketamine, norketamine, 5-MMPA, ritalinic acid, methoxyacetyl fentanyl, methylone, and RCS-4. The approach offers a cost-effective, wide-panel tool for forensic laboratories to assess NPS prevalence and co-use with classical drugs.