title: An Efficient, Robust Method for the Determination of Cannabinoids in Whole Blood by LC-MS-MS.
abstract: Due to the high prevalence of cannabinoids in forensic toxicology casework, it is desirable to have an efficient method that uses a small volume of blood and requires a minimal sample preparation. Although many methods have been reported, they are often labor intensive, require special sample preparation materials, use 1 mL or more of specimen or are difficult to replicate. The liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) method presented herein employs a rapid and simple liquid-liquid extraction, has been successfully applied in two different laboratories, uses 0.5 mL of specimen and was extensively validated. The validated limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 1 ng/mL for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and 11-hydroxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (OH-THC) and 5 ng/mL for 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCA). Each analyte demonstrated a zero-order linear range (r2> 0.990) with 1/x weighting of 1-40 ng/mL for THC and OH-THC and 5-200 ng/mL for THCA. The coefficient of variation of replicate analyses was within 14%. Bias was within ±13% of the prepared concentration. The validated method provides a sensitive, efficient and robust procedure for the quantitation of cannabinoids in blood using LC-MS-MS and a sample volume of 0.5 mL.
authors.affiliation: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 3228 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406, USA TiscioneN@pbso.org.
authors.forename: Nicholas B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Tiscione
authors.affiliation: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 3228 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406, USA.
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 3228 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaoqin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 32816, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sprague
authors.affiliation: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 3228 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406, USA.
authors.forename: Dustin Tate
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Yeatman
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000097:blood; D002138:Calibration; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000097:blood*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D006801:Humans; D057230:Limit of Detection; D059625:Liquid-Liquid Extraction; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013048:Specimen Handling; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D002186:Cannabinoids; C001427:11-hydroxy-delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol; C016780:11-nor-delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid; D013759:Dronabinol