title: Determination of Synthetic Cathinones in Urine Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Techniques.
abstract: In recent years, the abuse of synthetic cathinones has increased considerably. This study proposes a method, based on gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS), to analyze and quantify six synthetic cathinones in urine samples: mephedrone (4-MMC), methylone (bk-MDMA), butylone, ethylone, pentylone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). In our procedure, the urine samples undergo solid-phase extraction (SPE) and derivatization prior to injection into the GC-MS device. Separation is performed using a HP-5MS capillary column. The use of selective ion monitoring (SIM mode) makes it is good sensitivity in this method, and the entire analysis process is within 18 min. In addition, the proposed method maintains linearity in the calibration curve from 50 to 2,000 ng/mL (r(2) > 0.995). The limit of detection of this method is 5 ng/mL, with the exception of MDPV (20 ng/mL); the limit of quantification is 20 ng/mL, with the exception of MDPV (50 ng/mL). In testing, the extraction performance of SPE was between 82.34 and 104.46%. Precision and accuracy results were satisfactory <15%. The proposed method was applied to six real urine samples, one of which was found to contain 4-MMC and bk-MDMA. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method in the identification of synthetic cathinones in urine, with regard to the limits of detection and quantification. This method is highly repeatable and accurate.
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Yin
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ya-Chun
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Mei-Chih
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Po-Yu
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Pen
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Lih-Ching
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Chiueh
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Daniel Yang-Chih
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiu-Kuan
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan eteredu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hwei-Fang
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D015104:3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000652:urine; D000096:Acetone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000652:urine; D000662:Amphetamines / Q000652:urine; D052117:Benzodioxoles / Q000652:urine; D002138:Calibration; D015198:Designer Drugs / Q000032:analysis*; D005021:Ethylamines / Q000652:urine; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000652:urine; D011759:Pyrrolidines / Q000652:urine; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D052616:Solid Phase Extraction; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D016482:Urinalysis; D000094982:Synthetic Cathinone
chemical_list: C000599434:2-ethylammonio-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)propane-1-one chloride; D000662:Amphetamines; D052117:Benzodioxoles; D015198:Designer Drugs; D005021:Ethylamines; D011759:Pyrrolidines; D000096:Acetone; D008694:Methamphetamine; D015104:3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine; C548233:mephedrone; C000593098:pentylone; C400939:methylone; C544130:2-methylamino-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)butan-1-one; D000094982:Synthetic Cathinone