title: Cocaine and crack cocaine abuse by pregnant or lactating mothers and analysis of its biomarkers in meconium and breast milk by LC-MS-A review.
abstract: Abusive use of drugs is a public health problem worldwide. The use of these substances by pregnant or lactating women can have many serious side effects in newborns. Among the commonest causes of addiction in drug users is cocaine in powdered form, inhaled, intravenously injected or smoked form (crack). Fast screening and a confirmation test using high specificity and sensitivity instruments such as LC-MS or GC/MS, can provide data to qualify and quantify chemical substances present in biological samples such as breast milk or meconium. Cocaine and/or crack can be detected through biomarkers or the unchanged molecule, enabling the form of cocaine use to be distinguished through the analytes. These methods must be carefully developed and validated according to internationally recognized guidelines. Thus, the study of biological matrices in which it can be detected through the development of simple and quick analytical methods can help prevent intoxication and diagnose the symptoms of dependency such as seizures, especially in babies, providing appropriate medical care.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Ipiranga 2752, 90610-000 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: felipebdavila@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Felipe Bianchini
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: D'Avila
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Ipiranga 2752, 90610-000 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renata Pereira
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Limberger
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Ipiranga 2752, 90610-000 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pedro Eduardo
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Fröehlich
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D016578:Crack Cocaine; D005260:Female; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D006801:Humans; D007774:Lactation; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D008470:Meconium / Q000737:chemistry*; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016578:Crack Cocaine
keywords: Biomarkers; Breast milk; Cocaine/crack; LC–MS; Meconium