Rapid detection and quantitation of drugs-of-abuse by wooden-tip electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Rapid detection and quantitation of drugs-of-abuse by wooden-tip electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Determination of drugs-of-abuse in body fluids of drug abusers is important for the lawenforcement as well as the treatment and rehabilitation. In this study, wooden-tip electrosprayionization mass spectrometry (WT-ESI-MS), a simple and cost-effective technique,was developed for rapid detection and quantitation of common drugs-of-abuse, includingmethamphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), cocaine, heroin andtetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in urine and oral fluid, following our previous successfuldemonstration for rapid and sensitive detection of ketamine and nor-ketamine in urineand oral fluid by this technique. It was found that the limit-of-detection for methamphetaminecould fully fulfill the cut-off value requirements of the international standards,and those of MDMA and cocaine could fulfill some of the requirements. The linear range,accuracy and precision for quantitation of the drugs were generally satisfactory, except forTHC for which the analytical performance still needs to be improved. Analysis of onesample could typically be completed within minutes. These results indicated that WT-ESIMScould be used for rapid screening of drugs-of-abuse in urine, oral fluid as well as otherbody fluids.