title: Cut-off proposal for the detection of ketamine in hair.
abstract: Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic drug used in both human and veterinary surgery, but it is also commonly misused because of its psychotropic properties. Since the abuse of this drug has been reported in many countries worldwide, its determination in hair samples is offered as a specialist test by hundreds of laboratories. However, unlike other common drugs of abuse, a cut-off level for ketamine in hair has not been fixed yet. Therefore, aim of this study is to propose a concentration value for ketamine in hair analysis, in order to discriminate between chronic and occasional use, and between active use and external contamination. After considering the chemical properties of this molecule, and the experimental data collected in our laboratory or reported in several other published studies, we propose a cut-off level of 0.5ng/mg, as indicative of repeated exposure to ketamine. Additionally, we suggest that the detection of the metabolite norketamine should be mandatory to prove active intake and exclude false positive result from external contamination. Thus, a reasonable cut-off value for norketamine could be fixed at 0.1ng/mg, while the minimal concentration ratio norketamine/ketamine may be positively established at 0.05.
authors.affiliation: Centro Regionale Antidoping "A. Bertinaria", Regione Gonzole 10, 10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy. Electronic address: alberto.salomone@antidoping.piemonte.it.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salomone
authors.affiliation: Centro Regionale Antidoping "A. Bertinaria", Regione Gonzole 10, 10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gerace
authors.affiliation: Centro Regionale Antidoping "A. Bertinaria", Regione Gonzole 10, 10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Diana
authors.affiliation: Centro Grandi Ustionati-Ospedale CTO, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, via G. Zuretti 29, 10126 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romeo
authors.affiliation: Centro Grandi Ustionati-Ospedale CTO, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, via G. Zuretti 29, 10126 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Malvaso
authors.affiliation: Centro Regionale Antidoping "A. Bertinaria", Regione Gonzole 10, 10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Di Corcia
authors.affiliation: Centro Regionale Antidoping "A. Bertinaria", Regione Gonzole 10, 10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy; Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, 10125 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vincenti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000778:Anesthetics, Dissociative / Q000032:analysis*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007649:Ketamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000778:Anesthetics, Dissociative; D007649:Ketamine; C033419:norketamine
keywords: Cut-off; Hair; Ketamine