title: A fast and reliable method for GHB quantitation in whole blood by GC-MS/MS (TQD) for forensic purposes.
abstract: Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is an endogenous compound with a story of clinical use since the 1960s. However, due to its secondary effects, it has become a controlled substance, entering the illicit market. A fully validated, sensitive and reproducible method for the quantification of GHB by methanolic precipitation and GC-MS/MS (TQD) in whole blood is presented. Using 100μL of whole blood, obtained results included a LOD and LLOQ of 0.1mg/L and a recovery of 86% in a working range between 0.1 and 100mg/L. This method is sensitive and specific to detect the presence of GHB in small amounts of whole blood (both ante-mortem or post-mortem), and is, to the authors' knowledge, the first GC-MS-MS TQD method that uses different precursor ions and product ions for the identification of GHB and GHB-D6 (internal standard). Hence, this method may be especially useful for the study of endogenous values in this biological sample.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, Portugal; Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: andre.castro@inml.mj.pt.
authors.forename: André L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, Portugal. Electronic address: sonia.tarelho@inml.mj.pt.
authors.forename: Sónia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tarelho
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, Portugal. Electronic address: Mdias@dlinml.mj.pt.
authors.forename: Mário
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, IBILI, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address: freis@fmed.uc.pt.
authors.forename: Flávio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, Portugal; Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address: helenateixeira@inml.mj.pt.
authors.forename: Helena M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Teixeira
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy; D049429:Forensic Pathology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D053593:Forensic Toxicology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D006885:Hydroxybutyrates / Q000097:blood*; D057230:Limit of Detection; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D006885:Hydroxybutyrates; C111420:4-hydroxybutyric acid
keywords: Analytical validation; Endogenous values; Forensic science; Forensic toxicology; GC–MS/MS; Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB)