Detection of antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs in human hair.
The presence of therapeutic drugs and their metabolites in the hair of psychiatric patients was investigated using gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectroscopy (MS)-electron ionization (EI) and GC-MS-chemical ionization (CI). In hair samples tested from 35 subjects, carbamazepine, amitriptyline, doxepin, trihexyphenidyl, chlorpromazine, chlorprothixene, trifluoperazine, clozapine and haloperidol were detected, with maximal concentrations of 22.5, 57.7, 183.3, 15.6, 68.2, 30.0, 36.8, 59.2 and 20.1 ng/mg of hair sample, respectively. Chlorpromazine and clozapine concentrations in the hair were found to be dependent on the dosage used and their correlation coefficients were 0.8047 (P<0.001, n=16) and 0.7097 (P<0.001, n=16), respectively. Segmental analysis demonstrated that there was a correlation between the history of subject's drug exposure and the distribution of drug along the hair shaft. Our results also show that drug analysis in hair may provide useful information about drug treatment and the history of usage, and that drugs can be detected in normally kept hair for at least 16 months after intake.
Shen
Min
M
Department of Forensic Chemistry, Institute of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, 200063 Shanghai, PR China. ghb503@public3.sta.net.cn
Xiang
Ping
P
Wu
Hejian
H
Shen
Baohua
B
Huang
Zhongjie
Z
D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents