Using ambient mass spectrometry and LCeMS/MS for the rapid detection and identification of multiple illicit street drugs

Using ambient mass spectrometry and LCeMS/MS for the rapid detection and identification of multiple illicit street drugs

In this study the recently developed technique of thermal desorption electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (TDeESI/MS) was applied to the rapid analysis of multiplecontrolled substances. With the reallocation of mass spectral resources [from a standardESI source coupled with liquid chromatography (LC) to an ambient TDeESI source], thisdirect-analysis technique allows the identification of a wider range of illicit drugs through adual-working mode (pretreatment-free qualitative screening/conventional quantitativeconfirmation). Through 60-MRM (multiple reaction monitoring) analysisdin which the MS/MS process was programmed to sequentially scan 60 precursor ion/product ion transitionsand, thereby, identify 30 compounds (two precursor/product ion transitions per compound)dof a four-component (drug) standard, the signal intensity ratios of each drugtransition were comparable with those obtained through 8-MRM analysis, demonstratingthe selectivity of TDeESI/MS for the detection of multiple drugs. The consecutive analysesof tablets containing different active components occurred with no cross-contamination orinterference from sample to sample, demonstrating the reliability of the TDeESI/MStechnique for rapid sampling (two samples min_1). The active ingredients in seized drugmaterials could be detected even when they represented less than 2 mg g_1 of the totalsample weight, demonstrating the sensitivity of TDeESI/MS. Combining the ability torapidly identify multiple drugs with the “plug-and-play” design of the interchangeable ionsource, TDeESI/MS has great potential for use as a pretreatment-free qualitative screeningtool for laboratories currently using LCeMS/MS techniques to analyze illicit drugs.