title: Testing human hair for flunitrazepam and 7-amino-flunitrazepam by GC/MS-NCI.
abstract: To validate information on flunitrazepam use, we investigated human hair for flunitrazepam and its major metabolite 7-amino-flunitrazepam by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry in negative chemical ionization mode of detection. Samples were twice decontaminated with methylene chloride, pulverized in a ball mill and 50 mg of powdered hair were incubated in Soerensen buffer (pH 7.6) in the presence of diazepam-d5 used as internal standard. After liquid-liquid extraction of the incubation medium with diethylether-chloroform (80:20, by vol.), the organic phase was evaporated and the dry extract was derivatizated with heptafluorobutyric anhydride. Benzodiazepines were separated on a 30 m capillary column and detected using single ion monitoring. Among 40 hair samples tested (obtained from drug addicts deceased by heroin overdose), 14 were positive for both flunitrazepam and 7-amino-flunitrazepam and 12 for 7-amino-flunitrazepam only. Concentrations ranged from 31 to 129 pg/mg (mean: 60 pg/mg) and from 3 to 161 pg/mg (mean: 46 pg/mg) for flunitrazepam (14 cases) and 7-amino-flunitrazepam (26 cases), respectively. This first report described the detection of flunitrazepam and 7-amino-flunitrazepam in hair of chronic abusers. Due to the low concentrations observed, negative chemical ionization appears to be the alternative to test flunitrazepam and other benzodiazepines in hair.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Médecine Légale, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cirimele
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kintz
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Staub
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mangin
mesh_terms: D005445:Flunitrazepam / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis*; D018757:GABA Modulators / Q000032:analysis*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D018757:GABA Modulators; D005445:Flunitrazepam; C036343:7-aminoflunitrazepam