title: Quantification of selected synthetic cannabinoids and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in oral fluid by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
abstract: An LC-MS/MS method for the quantification of the synthetic cannabinoids JWH-200, JWH-250, JWH-073, JWH-018, HU-211, CP 47,497 and CP 47,497-C8, and THC in oral fluid was developed and validated. Samples (0.5 mL) were extracted using Strata X cartridges (Phenomenex). Chromatographic separation was achieved with a Sunfire™ IS column (20×2.1 mm, 3.5 μm) (Waters Corp.), with formic acid 0.1% and acetonitrile as mobile phase. A different chromatographic gradient was applied for the separation of the analytes depending on the ionization mode employed, with a total chromatographic run of 14 min. Detection was performed in a Quattro Micro™ API ESCI (Waters Corp.), using electrospray in the positive mode (ESI+) for JWH-200, JWH-250, JWH-073, JWH-018 and THC, and ESI- for HU-211, CP 47,497, and CP 47,497-C8. Validation of the method included the assessment of selectivity, linearity (0.1-2.5 to 200 ng/mL), limits of detection (0.025-1 ng/mL) and quantification (0.1-2.5 ng/mL), imprecision (%CV≤14.4%), accuracy (91.8-109.7% of target concentration), extraction recovery (65.4-105.6%) and Quantisal recovery (56.1-66.7%), and matrix effect (neat oral fluid: -56.0% to 38.5%; oral fluid in Quantisal buffer: -15.1% to -71.7%). The application of this method to oral fluid samples from roadside testing will provide unique information on the use of these new synthetic drugs by Spanish drivers.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Toxicología Forense, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, San Francisco s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain. ana.decastro@usc.es
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Castro
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Piñeiro
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lendoiro
authors.forename: Angelines
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: López-Rivadulla
mesh_terms: D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D015394:Molecular Structure; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002186:Cannabinoids; D013759:Dronabinol