title: Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography--quadrupole mass spectrometric analysis of drugs.
abstract: The use of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC x GC-qMS) for drug screening is investigated with 77 underivatised drug standards in methanolic solution. The GC x GC-qMS setup involved a reduced mass scan range of 42-235 u and minimum quadrupole sampling time to achieve quadrupole scanning frequency of 19.36 Hz. Only 26% of the drugs investigated gave fair-to-acceptable library matches with full mass scan range commercial libraries. The creation of a new "truncated" library based on the mass spectra of the drug standards in the applied mass scan range of 42-235 u extends the feasibility of the currently adopted GC x GC-qMS approach to higher molecular weight compounds and is investigated with blank blood spiked with drug standards. With the new library, 75% of the drugs yielded matches of at least 90%. The time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS) is expected to address the limitations of the present GC x GC-qMS setup and a brief comparison between GC x GC-qMS and GC x GC-TOFMS is also provided in this study.
authors.affiliation: Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science, School of Applied Sciences, Melbourne, Vic 3001, Australia.
authors.forename: Shin Miin
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marriott
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wynne
mesh_terms: D005240:Feasibility Studies; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D008970:Molecular Weight; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis*; D012015:Reference Standards
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations