A sensitive method using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection was developed to measure MDMA, MDA, methamphetamine, and amphetamine in human hair. Drugs were extracted from hair using trifluoroacetic acid in methanol and labeled with a fluorescent reagent. Separation was achieved on a reversed-phase column. Detection limits for MDMA, MDA, methamphetamine, and amphetamine were 0.25, 0.15, 0.25, and 0.19 ng/mg, respectively. Assay precision ranged from 1.5% to 6.8% for intra-day and 2.7% to 4.7% for inter-day measurements. The method was sensitive enough to detect these compounds in small hair samples and was applied to quantify drugs in six abusers' hair.
A method using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection was developed to measure the abused drugs MDMA, MDA, amphetamine, and methamphetamine in rat urine. The drugs were labeled with a fluorescent reagent and separated within 45 minutes. Detection limits ranged from 0.5 to 15 ng/mL. After a single injection of MDMA to rats, both MDMA and its metabolite MDA could be detected in urine for up to 15 hours, with concentrations ranging from 0.13 to 160.1 µg/mL for MDMA and 0.17 to 10.9 µg/mL for MDA.