title: Rapid quantification of buprenorphine-glucuronide and norbuprenorphine-glucuronide in human urine by LC-MS-MS.
abstract: A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of buprenorphine-glucuronide (BUP-G) and norbuprenorphine-glucuronide (NBUP-G) in human urine. The method included a dilution step followed by filtration through a Mini-Uniprep Filter and direct injection onto the LC column. The analytes were quantified in multiple reactions monitoring mode using one transition ion. Norbuprenorpine-d(3) (NBUP-d(3)) was used as the internal standard. The concentration ranges were 6-161 ng/mL for BUP-G and 12-295 ng/mL for NBUP-G. Recoveries determined after filtration for the analytes were 75%. The between-day precision of the method was in the range of 4.8-11%. The limits of quantification were found to be 4.6 ng/mL for BUP-G and 11.8 ng/mL for NBUP-G. Approximately 1000 samples from law enforcement, prison inmates, probation services, and hospitals were analyzed by the presented method. The ratios of drug glucuronides versus creatinine were calculated for a selection of samples (n = 151), where there was information on treatment with buprenorphine between 16 and 20 mg/day. The majority (86%) of the samples had a ratio of BUP-G/creatinine below 570 microg/g, and 76% of the samples had NBUP-G/creatinine lower than 1060 microg/g. The LC-MS-MS method proved to be robust and specific for the determination of BUP-G and NBUP-G in urine.
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Forensic Toxicology and Drug Abuse, P.O. Box 4404 Nydalen, NO-0403 Oslo, Norway. solfrid.hegstad@fhi.no
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hegstad
authors.forename: H Z
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Khiabani
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Øiestad
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Christophersen
mesh_terms: D001711:Biotransformation; D002047:Buprenorphine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D009294:Narcotics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics; C499393:norbuprenorphine-3-beta-D-glucuronide; C050182:buprenorphine-3-O-glucuronide; D002047:Buprenorphine