A new laboratory method using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry reliably measures the hallucinogenic drugs psilocin, bufotenine, and LSD along with their breakdown products in blood and urine. The procedure protects unstable compounds by adding vitamin C, drying with nitrogen, and blocking light. It recovers at least 86% of each drug, shows no significant interference from other substances, and produces consistent results with low variability. Processed samples remain stable for at least two days. The method was successfully tested on real patient samples.
A method extracts the hallucinogens psilocin, bufotenine, LSD, and related compounds (iso-LSD, nor-LSD, O-H-LSD) from hair using hydrochloric acid and methanol. Clean-up uses solid-phase extraction with a mixed-mode cation exchanger, and measurement is by liquid chromatography with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. The method was validated per the Society of Toxicological and Forensic Chemistry guidelines. Reference hair samples were created by soaking hair in a dimethyl sulfoxide/methanol solution of the analytes to allow incorporation; these fortified samples served for method development and as quality controls.