A highly sensitive method for measuring psilocin and psilocybin in hair samples from magic mushroom users was developed using ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The technique achieved a detection limit of 1 pg/mg and a quantification limit of 5 pg/mg, with linear calibration from 5 to 500 pg/mg. In two authentic hair samples, psilocin concentrations were 161 and 150 pg/mg, while psilocybin was not detected. The method also analyzed psilocin and psilocybin distribution in seven hallucinogenic mushrooms. This represents the first measurement of psilocin in hair from hallucinogenic mushroom consumers and the most sensitive quantitative method for these compounds in hair.
A rapid UHPLC-MS/MS method was developed to screen 16 tryptamines in hair samples. Twenty milligrams of hair were pulverized and processed, achieving limits of detection from 0.1 to 20 pg/mg and quantitation from 3 to 50 pg/mg. The method was applied to 191 hair samples from suspected tryptamine users; 77 tested positive for 5-MeO-DiPT, while the other 114 showed none of the targeted tryptamines or metabolites. In 34 samples, 5-MeO-DiPT and its metabolites 5-MeO-NiPT, 5-OH-DiPT, and 4-OH-DiPT were detected together. The method demonstrated good accuracy (91-114%), precision, and recovery (85-115%), making it suitable for forensic analysis of tryptamine use.