title: Determination of drugs of abuse in bovine dentin using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.
abstract: Drugs deposited in human teeth are well preserved; the spectrum of toxicological investigations may therefore be supplemented by an analysis method for drugs in teeth. A liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry assay for the detection and quantification of basic drugs of abuse in bovine dentin samples was developed and validated. The drugs and metabolites amphetamine, methamphetamine, methylenedioxymethylamphetamine, methylenedioxyethylamphetamine, codeine, morphine, cocaine and benzoylecgonine were extracted from 50 mg ground dentin powder by ultrasonication for 60 min in methanol 3 times. The extracts were analyzed on a triple-quadrupole mass-spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The method was validated and proved to be accurate, precise, selective, specific and stable with good linearity within the calibration range and a lower limit of quantification of 10 to 20 pg/mg. To artificially load bovine dentin samples with drugs, the natural process of de- and remineralization in the oral cavity was mimicked by a pH-cycling experiment. The artificially drug-loaded dentin samples showed drug concentrations of 20 to 80 pg/mg. The method can be applied in further in vitro experiments as well as in post-mortem cases, especially where limited sample tissue is available.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spinner
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klima
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kempf
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Huppertz
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Auwärter
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Altenburger
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Neukamm
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods; D003804:Dentin / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000032:analysis*; D057230:Limit of Detection; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs
keywords: LC-ESI-MS/MS; alternative matrix; dental hard tissue; dentin; drugs of abuse