Enantioselective determination of 3,4‐methylene‐dioxymethamphetamine and two of its metabolites in human urine by cyclodextrin‐modified capillary zone electrophoresis
Electrophoresis January 1, 1997 Matthias Lanz, Rudolf Brenneisen, Wolfgang Thormann 70 citations
A capillary electrophoresis method using a phosphate buffer with a chiral selector separates the enantiomers of MDMA (Ecstasy) and its metabolites HMMA and MDA in human urine. After enzymatic hydrolysis and solid-phase extraction, detection at 195 nm achieves detection limits of 20–50 ng/mL with 5 mL samples. Analysis of two patients' urine shows enantioselective metabolism: one patient excreted 42.28% of the racemic MDMA dose as R-(−)-MDMA and 10.16% as S-(+)-MDMA; the other excreted 28.63% and 9.34%, respectively. Metabolite enantiomer excretion varied between individuals, demonstrating interindividual differences in MDMA metabolism.