Identification and quantitation of ketamine in biological matrices using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

Ketamine hydrochloride, a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act, is a dissociative anesthetic that has a combination of stimulant, depressant, hallucinogenic, and analgesic properties. This procedure utilizes solid phase extraction of blood, tissue, or urine samples to isolate ketamine (special K) and its metabolite norketamine. The extract is then assayed using selected ion monitoring gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for absolute structural confirmation of the compound and the compounds quantified by comparing responses of the unknown samples to the responses of standards.