Correction to: Simultaneous determination of 137 drugs of abuse, new psychoactive substances, and novel synthetic opioids in meconium by UHPLC-QTOF

AbstractNew psychoactive substances (NPS) have been introduced into the market in recent years, with new analytes reported every year. The use of these substances in women can occur at any stage of life, even in the childbearing age. Drug use during pregnancy presents significant risks for the mother and the fetus, so it is important to have tools that allow to detect prenatal exposure to these substances of abuse. Therefore, an analytical method for the determination of 137 NPS and other drugs of abuse in meconium by UHPLC-QTOF was developed and validated for semi-quantitative purpose. Linearity range, limit of detection (LOD), precision, matrix effect, selectivity, and specificity were evaluated. For all analytes, the calibration curves were studied in the ranges between 2, 10, or 50 ng/g and 750 or 1000 ng/g, (depending on the analyte) and the LOD ranged between 0.04 and 2.4 ng/g. The method was applied to 30 meconium specimens from cases in which fentanyl had been administered as epidural anesthesia at the time of delivery or cases in which the maternal hair was positive to other drug of abuse. Four meconium samples tested positive for fentanyl (range concentration = 440–750 ng/g) and two samples tested positive to acetylfentanyl (range concentration = 190–1400 ng/g).

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Simultaneous Determination of Amphetamine-Related New Psychoactive Substances in Urine by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry†

Journal of Analytical Toxicology ◽

10.1093/jat/bky037 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 42 (9) ◽

pp. 605-616 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jin Young Kim ◽

Sunglll Suh ◽

Jaehyeong Park ◽

Moon Kyo In

Keyword(s):

Gas Chromatography ◽

Simultaneous Determination ◽

Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽

New Psychoactive Substances ◽

Multiple Drug ◽

Drug Abusers ◽

Psychoactive Substances ◽

Validation Parameters ◽

Interday Precision

Abstract Despite the efforts to prevent the spread of new psychoactive substances (NPS) such as synthetic amphetamine derivatives, it is apparent that newer types of NPS are still emerging on the market in recent years. Due to high potential for their abuse, reliable analytical methods are required to determine these substances in biological samples. The objective of this study was to develop and validate the gas chromatography–mass spectrometric (GC–MS) method for the simultaneous determination of 13 amphetamine-related NPS (amphetamine; AP, 4-fluoroamphetamine; 4FA, methamphamine; MA, 4-fluoromethamphetamine; 4FMA, 4-chloroamphetamine; 4CA, para-methoxyamphetamine; PMA, 4-chloromethamphetamine; 4CMA, 6-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran; 6APB, 4-methylenedioxyamphetamine; MDA, para-methoxymethamphetamine; PMMA, 6-(2-methylaminopropyl)benzofuran; 6MAPB, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA, 5,6-methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane; MDAI) in urine. The analytes were extracted at pH 7.4 by liquid–liquid extraction prior to their trifluoroacetyl derivatives and then analyzed by GC–MS. The validation parameters included selectivity, linearity, lower limits of quantification (LLOQ), intra and interday precision and accuracy, recovery and stability. The linear ranges were 2–100 ng/mL for AP, 4FA, 4FMA, 4CA, PMA, 6APB, MDA, and MDAI, 2–250 ng/mL for 4CMA, PMMA, and 6MAPB and 25–1,000 ng/mL for MA and MDMA, with acceptable coefficients of determination (r2 > 0.9963). The intra and interday precision were within 11.9 and 12.5%, while the intra and interday accuracies ranged from −10.6% to 13.0% and −11.0% to 6.8% for the nominal concentration at all studied levels, respectively. The LLOQs for each analyte were 2.0–25 ng/mL. The recoveries ranged from 69.3% to 96.4%. The short- and long-term variations of the analytes in urine were lower than 8.5 and 12.7%, indicating that the analytes are stable at least for 16 h at room temperature and for 7 days at 4°C, respectively. The applicability of the method was examined by analyzing urine samples from drug abusers and was determined to be effective for detecting multiple drug use.

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Novel Synthetic Opioids: The Pathologist’s Point of View

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci8090170 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (9) ◽

pp. 170 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Paolo Frisoni ◽

Erica Bacchio ◽

Sabrine Bilel ◽

Anna Talarico ◽

Rosa Gaudio ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Synthetic Cannabinoids ◽

Point Of View ◽

New Psychoactive Substances ◽

Psychoactive Substances ◽

Synthetic Drugs ◽

Synthetic Opioids ◽

Opioid Intoxication ◽

Fentanyl Analogs ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

Novel Synthetic Opioids

Background: New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) constitute a broad range of hundreds of natural and synthetic drugs, including synthetic opioids, synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, and other NPS classes, which were not controlled from 1961 to 1971 by the United Nations drug control conventions. Among these, synthetic opioids represent a major threat to public health. Methods: A literature search was carried out using public databases (such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus) to survey fentanyl-, fentanyl analogs-, and other synthetic opioid-related deaths. Keywords including “fentanyl”, “fentanyl analogs”, “death”, “overdose”, “intoxication”, “synthetic opioids”, “Novel Psychoactive Substances”, “MT-45”, “AH-7921”, and “U-47700” were used for the inquiry. Results: From our literature examination, we inferred the frequent implication of fentanyls and synthetic opioids in side effects, which primarily affected the central nervous system and the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. The data showed a great variety of substances and lethal concentrations. Multidrug-related deaths appeared very common, in most reported cases. Conclusions: The investigation of the contribution of novel synthetic opioid intoxication to death should be based on a multidisciplinary approach aimed at framing each case and directing the investigation towards targeted toxicological analyses.

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Simultaneous Determination of 5- and 6-APB in Blood, Other Body Fluids, Hair and Various Tissues by HPLC-MS/MS

Journal of Analytical Toxicology ◽

10.1093/jat/bkab018 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vanessa Hofmann ◽

Tom Richard Sundermann ◽

Aysche Landmann ◽

Stefanie Rechtsteiner ◽

Georg Schmitt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Simultaneous Determination ◽

High Performance ◽

Chromatographic Method ◽

Simultaneous Detection ◽

Body Fluids ◽

New Psychoactive Substances ◽

Fatal Intoxication ◽

Psychoactive Substances ◽

Human Blood Samples

Abstract 5-(2-Aminopropyl)benzofuran (5-APB) and 6-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran (6-APB) are benzofuran analogues of amphetamine and belong to the category of new psychoactive substances. Despite already published fatal 5- and 6-APB intoxication after consumption of both substances in most cases, no sensitive method for the simultaneous detection and quantification of these new psychoactive compounds in human blood samples has yet been developed. Therefore, an easy and fast sample preparation and specific high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry methods for the determination of both substances in blood were established and validated. In a fatal intoxication in 2017 at the Institute of Forensic and Traffic Medicine in Heidelberg, Germany, concentrations of 850 (5-APB) and 300 ng/mL (6-APB) were determined in peripheral blood. Besides, other body fluids (central blood, urine and bile), hair and various tissues were examined to verify the presence of both compounds and to gain first insights into their distribution. In this publication, we show a method for the simultaneous determination of 5- and 6-APB in human samples by a chromatographic method and to investigate their distribution in the human body.

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Simultaneous determination of 24 opioids, stimulants and new psychoactive substances in wastewater

MethodsX ◽

10.1016/j.mex.2019.04.016 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 953-960 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Richard Bade ◽

Maulik Ghetia ◽

Lynn Nguyen ◽

Benjamin J. Tscharke ◽

Jason M. White ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Simultaneous Determination ◽

New Psychoactive Substances ◽

Psychoactive Substances

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Screening of 104 New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and Other Drugs of Abuse in Oral Fluid by LC–MS-MS

Journal of Analytical Toxicology ◽

10.1093/jat/bkaa089 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 (7) ◽

pp. 697-707

Author(s):

Kelly Francisco da Cunha ◽

Karina Diniz Oliveira ◽

Marilyn A Huestis ◽

Jose Luiz Costa

Keyword(s):

Oral Fluid ◽

Drugs Of Abuse ◽

Matrix Effects ◽

Synthetic Cannabinoids ◽

Screening Method ◽

Simultaneous Detection ◽

New Psychoactive Substances ◽

Major Public Health Problem ◽

Psychoactive Substances ◽

Wide Range

Abstract New psychoactive substances (NPS) are a major public health problem, primarily due to the increased number of acute poisoning cases. Detection of these substances is a challenge. The aim of this research was to develop and validate a sensitive screening method for 104 drugs of abuse, including synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, fentanyl analogues, phenethylamines and other abused psychoactive compounds (i.e., THC, MDMA, LSD and their metabolites) in oral fluid by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS-MS). The Quantisal™ oral fluid device was used to collect oral fluid samples. The oral fluid–elution buffer mixture (500-μL sample) was extracted with t-butyl methyl ether, and chromatographic separation was performed on a Raptor™ biphenyl column (100 × 2.1 mm ID, 2.7 μm), with a total run time of 13.5 min. Limits of detection were established at three concentrations (0.05, 0.1 or 1 ng/mL) for most analytes, except for acetyl norfentanyl and mescaline (5 ng/mL). Matrix effects were generally <20% and overall extraction recoveries >60%. The highest matrix effect was observed within the synthetic cannabinoid group (PB22, −55.5%). Lower recoveries were observed for 2C-T (47.2%) and JWH-175 (58.7%). Recoveries from the Quantisal™ device were also evaluated for all analytes (56.7–127%), with lower recoveries noted for 25I-NBOMe, valerylfentanyl and mCPP (56.7, 63.0 and 69.9%, respectively). Drug stability in oral fluid was evaluated at 15, 60 and 90 days and at 25, 4 and −20°C. As expected, greater stability was observed when samples were stored at −20°C, but even when frozen, some NPS (e.g., synthetic cannabinoids) showed more than 20% degradation. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of seven authentic oral fluid samples positive for 17 different analytes. The method achieved good sensitivity and simultaneous detection of a wide range of NPS.

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Recent bionalytical methods for the determination of new psychoactive substances in biological specimens

Bioanalysis ◽

10.4155/bio-2020-0148 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (21) ◽

pp. 1557-1595

Author(s):

Ana Y Simão ◽

Mónica Antunes ◽

Hernâni Marques ◽

Tiago Rosado ◽

Sofia Soares ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acute Toxicity ◽

Analytical Methods ◽

Synthetic Cannabinoids ◽

New Psychoactive Substances ◽

Screening Methods ◽

Psychoactive Substances ◽

Clinical Action ◽

One Step ◽

Preparation Techniques

One of the problems associated with the consumption of new psychoactive substances is that in most scenarios of acute toxicity the possibility of quick clinical action may be impaired because many screening methods are not responsive to them, and laboratories are not able to keep pace with the appearance of new substances. For these reasons, developing and validating new analytical methods is mandatory in order to efficiently face those problems, allowing laboratories to be one step ahead. The goal of this work is to perform a critical review regarding bionalytical methods that can be used for the determination of new psychoactive substances (phenylethylamines, cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids, opioids, benzodiazepines, etc), particularly concerning sample preparation techniques and associated analytical methods.

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