Section of Legal Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Conca 41, 60126 Torrette di Ancona, Ancona, Italy.
Comedical S.r.L. Trento, Va della Cooperazione 29, 38123 Trento, Italy.
J Anal Toxicol. 2020 Jan 7;44(1):69-74. doi: 10.1093/jat/bkz009.
Nail analysis can be performed as a substitute or complement to hair analysis for the retrospective determination of psychotropic drugs consumption in forensic contexts. The application of nail analysis in a "chemsex" context is reported herein. An ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed to quantify the most common drugs of abuse, synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones and GHB in fingernails and toenails of individuals presumptively using these drugs in music and sex settings. Results were compared to the concentrations measured in hair. Nail and hair keratin matrices were digested with VMA-TM3® buffer reagent and underwent a solid phase extraction before chromatographic separation with reversed phase columns and a linear gradient elution with 5 mM ammonium formate and acetonitrile, for detecting classic drugs of abuse, or 0.1% formic acid and methanol, for detecting synthetic cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids, and GHB. Analytes were detected with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operated in multiple reaction monitoring mode after positive electrospray ionization. Nails of individuals practicing "chemsex" contained at least three different psychoactive drugs, and up to eight drugs simultaneously. Identified drugs included cocaine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, amphetamine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, ketamine, norketamine, mephedrone, methylone, 4-methyletcathinone, methcathinone, γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and γ-butyrolactone. Most used drugs were MDMA and GHB followed by cocaine and ketamine. Drugs concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 690 ng/mg in fingernails. In the two individuals who also provided toenails, concentrations were always higher in fingernails than in toenails, while in two other individuals who donated also hair, concentrations in this latter matrix were either higher or lower than those measured in fingernails. This study demonstrated that nails may well represent an appropriate non-conventional biological matrix to provide additional information in forensic toxicology.
指甲分析可作为法医鉴定中回溯性测定精神药物消耗的头发分析的替代或补充。本文报道了指甲分析在“性化学”背景下的应用。建立了一种超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法，用于定量检测指甲和趾甲中最常见的滥用药物、合成大麻素、合成苯丙胺和 GHB。这些个体被假定在音乐和性环境中使用这些药物。结果与头发中测量的浓度进行了比较。指甲和头发角蛋白基质用 VMA-TM3®缓冲试剂消化，并在色谱分离前进行固相萃取，采用反相柱和 5 mM 甲酸铵和乙腈进行线性梯度洗脱，用于检测经典滥用药物，或 0.1%甲酸和甲醇，用于检测合成苯丙胺、合成大麻素和 GHB。分析物用正电喷雾电离后工作在多反应监测模式的三重四极杆质谱仪检测。从事“性化学”的个体的指甲中至少含有三种不同的精神活性药物，最多同时含有八种药物。鉴定出的药物包括可卡因、苯甲酰可待因、古柯酯、Δ-9-四氢大麻酚、苯丙胺、甲基苯丙胺、3,4-亚甲二氧基甲基苯丙胺、3,4-亚甲二氧基苯丙胺、氯胺酮、去甲氯胺酮、麦角酸二乙酰胺、甲基酮、4-甲氧基乙基苯丙胺、甲卡西酮、γ-羟基丁酸（GHB）和γ-丁内酯。最常用的药物是 MDMA 和 GHB，其次是可卡因和氯胺酮。药物浓度范围为 0.1 至 690 ng/mg 在指甲中。在另外两个同时提供趾甲的个体中，指甲中的浓度总是高于趾甲，而在另外两个同时提供头发的个体中，该基质中的浓度要么高于要么低于指甲中的浓度。本研究表明，指甲可能是法医毒理学中提供额外信息的合适非传统生物基质。
