Determination of illicit and medicinal drugs and their metabolites in oral fluid and preserved oral fluid by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

• DOI: 10.1007/s00216-008-2135-4
• Publication Date: 2008-05-15T03:53:43Z
• Authors: Marta Concheiro; Ana de Castro; Óscar Quintela; Angelines Cruz; Manuel López-Riva...
• Keywords: Substance Abuse Detection; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Illicit Drugs; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Humans; Saliva; 01 natural sciences; Chromatography, Liquid; 0104 chemical sciences; 3. Good health

An LC-MS/MS method using 0.5 ml of oral fluid was developed for the determination of morphine, codeine, 6-monoacetylmorphine, methadone, amphetamine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-ethylamphetamine, benzoylecgonine, cocaine, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, zolpidem, zopiclone, alprazolam, clonazepam, oxazepam, nordiazepam, lorazepam, flunitrazepam, diazepam, diphenhydramine and amitriptyline. The method was fully validated in terms of linearity (the method was linear between 1-5 microg/L and 100-200 microg/L) recoveries (7.5-82.6%), within-day and between-day precisions and accuracies (CV and MRE, both <15%), limits of detection (0.5 microg/L) and quantitation (the lowest point on the calibration curve), relative ion intensities, freeze-and-thaw stability and matrix effect. The method was applied to preserved oral fluid collected by a special commercial device, the StatSure Saliva Sampler.