Designer psychostimulants in urine by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
Journal of forensic sciences January 1, 2014 Sarah Kerrigan, Ashley Mott, Breanna Jatzlau et al. 20 citations
A new laboratory method using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) can detect 15 designer psychostimulants in urine at very low concentrations. The drugs include various 2C-phenethylamines, DOx amphetamines, and 4-MTA. Using solid-phase extraction, analytical recoveries ranged from 64% to 92%, and the limit of detection was 0.5 ng/mL for all drugs except 2C-B (1 ng/mL). The technique was evaluated for recovery, precision, accuracy, linearity, matrix effects, and interferences, enabling simultaneous detection of these substances at sub-ng/mL levels. Many such drugs are not targeted in routine toxicology testing and thus go unreported.