Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Unit of Legal Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Department of Legal and Occupational Medicine, Toxicology and Public Health, University Hospital of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Drug Test Anal. 2022 Feb;14(2):202-223. doi: 10.1002/dta.3170. Epub 2021 Oct 21.
The analysis of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) represents a challenge in forensic toxicology, due to the high number of compounds characterized by different structures and physicochemical properties both among different subclasses and within a single subclass of NPS. The aim of the present work is the development and validation of a targeted liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the detection of NPS in whole blood.
A protein-precipitation based LC-MS/MS method for the detection of more than 180 NPS was developed and validated by assessing the following parameters: selectivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection (LOD) and of quantification (LOQ) recovery, and matrix effect. Then, the method was applied to real forensic samples.
The method allowed the identification of 132 synthetic cannabinoids, 22 synthetic opioids, and 28 substances among synthetic cathinones, stimulants, and other drugs. Validation was successfully achieved for most of the compounds. Linearity was in the range of 0.25-10 ng/ml for synthetic cannabinoids and 0.25-25 ng/ml for other drugs. Accuracy and precision were acceptable according to international guidelines. Three cases tested positive for fentanyl and ketamine, in the setting of emergency room administration.
The present methodology represents a fast, not expensive, wide-panel method for the analysis of more than 180 NPS by LC-MS/MS, which can be profitably applied both in a clinical context and in postmortem toxicology.
分析新型精神活性物质（NPS）对法医毒物学来说是一个挑战，因为不同亚类和同一 NPS 亚类中的化合物具有不同的结构和理化性质，数量众多。本工作的目的是开发和验证一种用于检测全血中 NPS 的基于蛋白沉淀的液相色谱串联质谱（LC-MS/MS）方法。
建立并验证了一种基于蛋白沉淀的 LC-MS/MS 方法，用于检测 180 多种 NPS，通过评估以下参数来评估方法的选择性、线性、准确度、精密度、检测限（LOD）和定量限（LOQ）回收率以及基质效应。然后，将该方法应用于实际法医样本。
该方法能够识别 132 种合成大麻素、22 种合成阿片类药物以及 28 种合成苯丙胺、兴奋剂和其他药物。大多数化合物的验证均成功完成。合成大麻素的线性范围为 0.25-10ng/ml，其他药物的线性范围为 0.25-25ng/ml。根据国际指南，准确度和精密度均在可接受范围内。在急诊室给药的情况下，有 3 例样本检测出芬太尼和氯胺酮呈阳性。
本方法是一种快速、经济、宽谱的 LC-MS/MS 分析方法，可用于临床和法医毒理学中 180 多种 NPS 的分析。
