A new method using cork powder as a biosorbent in solid-phase microextraction combined with LC-MS/MS was developed to detect synthetic cathinones and related substances in postmortem blood. The method requires only 200 µL of sample and 30 mg of cork, with a 7.5-minute run time. Validation following ASB/ANSI Standard 036 showed lower limits of quantification between 0.5 and 1 ng/mL and linear ranges up to 85 ng/mL. Accuracy and precision were satisfactory, though significant ion suppression (2.9-63.4%) was observed. Testing on three forensic postmortem blood samples confirmed MDMA (79.2-198.1 ng/mL) and MDA (23.1-26.6 ng/mL). The method scored 0.53 on the AGREEprep greenness scale, offering a reliable and more environmentally friendly alternative for forensic toxicology.
A simple method using protein precipitation and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed to detect 16 stimulant substances in postmortem blood samples from nearly 1000 Brazilian forensic cases. The method was validated according to ANSI/ASB Standard 036 and showed low quantification limits (5–20 ng/mL) and good precision and accuracy. Analysis of 971 samples found that about 20.1% tested positive for at least one substance, with benzoylecgonine (17.8%), ecgonine methyl ester (13.9%), and cocaine (13.0%) being most common. Significant matrix effects occurred only for EME and phenylephrine.