A high-throughput urinalysis of abused drugs based on a SPE-LC-MS/MS method coupled with an in-house developed post-analysis data treatment system.
A rapid urinalysis system based on SPE-LC-MS/MS with an in-house post-analysis data management system has been developed for the simultaneous identification and semi-quantitation of opiates (morphine, codeine), methadone, amphetamines (amphetamine, methylamphetamine (MA), 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)), 11-benzodiazepines or their metabolites and ketamine. The urine samples are subjected to automated solid phase extraction prior to analysis by LC-MS (Finnigan Surveyor LC connected to a Finnigan LCQ Advantage) fitted with an Alltech Rocket Platinum EPS C-18 column. With a single point calibration at the cut-off concentration for each analyte, simultaneous identification and semi-quantitation for the above mentioned drugs can be achieved in a 10 min run per urine sample. A computer macro-program package was developed to automatically retrieve appropriate data from the analytical data files, compare results with preset values (such as cut-off concentrations, MS matching scores) of each drug being analyzed and generate user-defined Excel reports to indicate all positive and negative results in batch-wise manner for ease of checking. The final analytical results are automatically copied into an Access database for report generation purposes. Through the use of automation in sample preparation, simultaneous identification and semi-quantitation by LC-MS/MS and a tailored made post-analysis data management system, this new urinalysis system significantly improves the quality of results, reduces the post-data treatment time, error due to data transfer and is suitable for high-throughput laboratory in batch-wise operation.
Cheng
Wing-Chi
WC
Forensic Science Division, Government Laboratory, 88 Chung Hau Street, Homantin Government Offices, Homantin, Hong Kong SAR, China. wccheng@govtlab.gov.hk
Yau
Tsan-Sang
TS
Wong
Ming-Kei
MK
Chan
Lai-Ping
LP
Mok
Vincent King-Kuen
VK
D001331:Automation; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009294:Narcotics / Q000652:urine*; D012984:Software; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000652:urine; D016482:Urinalysis
D009294:Narcotics