ANALYTICAL AND LABORATORY EQUIPMENT 29
Identifying the unknown T
Danielle Mackowsky reveals the in-lab battle to analyse emerging designer drugs
oxicology labs are fighting to remain on top of the emerging designer
drugs that are appearing in their casework. Constantly evolving compounds, meant to mimic a variety of traditional drug classes such as cannabinoids, opiates and benzodiazepines, are found on the streets in unknown preparations and then subsequently on the lab bench. On account of this, the accurate and rapid extraction methods for these drug classes in a wide variety of biological matrices are critical. Tese extraction methods need to not only be specific for the current generations of designer drugs, but also amendable to future compounds that emerge as drugs of abuse. Te use of UCT’s solid phase extraction (SPE) methodologies meet the above criteria, while also providing scientists with clean, concentrated samples that can be analysed on either GC-MS or LC-MS/MS. Synthetic cannabinoids
first appeared as a legal high in the USA in the early 2000s. Advertised as being derived from naturally occurring herbal products, these compounds were boasted to be a safe and effective way to get high without testing positive for traditional drugs of abuse. In reality, these ‘spice’ sachets often contained plant material sprayed with chemicals that were once researched in legitimate academic settings for their endocannabinoid receptor
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properties. Early generations of these synthetic cannabinoids were named after John W. Huffman (JWH), the primary investigator who pioneered the synthesis of many of these compounds in the 1980s.
A polymeric-based sorbent For analysis of the abovementioned synthetic cannabinoids, UCT has employed the use of its Styre Screen HLD polymeric-based sorbent. Tis approach allows for toxicologist to skip the preconditioning steps found in a traditional solid phase extraction protocol and also saves on overall solvent usage. Te neutral chemical nature of the sorbent itself proves very effective for retention of both parent compounds and subsequent metabolites. Following sample loading, the column is washed with 100 mM acetate buffer (pH 5) and a 100 mM acetate
buffer/methanol solution (75/25 v/v) to ensure unwanted matrix components are removed. Several combinations of buffer/ methanol washes were evaluated to ensure optimal cleanliness and analyte recovery ranging from 75% buffer/25% methanol to 50% buffer/50% methanol. Although adequate recovery can be achieved for most synthetic cannabinoids under all conditions, it was noted that going above 25% methanol caused the metabolites of JWH compounds to be lost in the wash. For analyte elution, 100% ethyl acetate was determined to be the most effective solvent, selectively isolating analytes of interest while leaving unwanted matrix bound the sorbent. In addition to synthetic cannabinoids, opiates have become a dominant player in the drug scene, specifically on account of the recent heroin epidemic plaguing the USA. Although strides have been
Toxicology labs are seeing a host of new designer drugs appearing in their casework
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