ITT Montani, Via Montani 7, 63900, Fermo, FM, Italy.
School of Science and Technology, University of Camerino, Via S. Agostino n. 1, 62032, Camerino, MC, Italy.
Forensic Toxicol. 2022 Jul;40(2):357-365. doi: 10.1007/s11419-022-00627-9. Epub 2022 May 10.
Prevalence measures of sociological interest concerning cocaine presence on banknotes are fraught with (i) the extreme variability of its concentration (seven orders of magnitude); (ii) the high number of banknotes needed for the statistical significance. Banknote dust from counting machines from a large and representative number of banknotes in circulation in a specific area represents the most eligible sample to ascertain cocaine circulation. No chromatographic method is available in this respect. This study aims at developing the first analytical methodology for the determination of cocaine in banknote dust samples.
This novel and straightforward approach consists of a simple methanol extraction followed by analytical determinations via ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry.
Satisfactory analytical performance was obtained with a coefficient of determination of 0.996; maximum within-run and between-run precisions were, respectively, 1.85% and 5.20%. Limits of detection and quantification were, respectively, 3 and 9 ng/mL with an overall process efficiency of 93.2%. The method developed was successfully applied to 9 banknote dust samples from local banknote counter machines. The found concentrations ranged from 2.18E + 02 to 2.31E + 03 μg of cocaine per gram of banknote dust and varied only one order of magnitude, much less than cocaine concentration on banknotes.
To have an idea of cocaine circulation in a geographical area, the sampling of banknote dust, compared to banknotes, consists of tremendous advantages in terms of statistical significance, higher cocaine concentrations, and lower variability: this is crucial from the sociological point of view.
有关钞票上可卡因存在的社会学兴趣的流行率测量存在以下问题：（i）其浓度变化极大（七个数量级）；（ii）需要大量钞票才能具有统计学意义。来自特定地区流通的大量有代表性的钞票的点钞机上的钞票灰尘是确定可卡因流通情况的最合格样本。在这方面没有可用的色谱方法。本研究旨在开发用于确定钞票灰尘样品中可卡因的第一个分析方法。
这种新颖而简单的方法包括简单的甲醇提取，然后通过超高效液相色谱与轨道阱高分辨率质谱联用进行分析测定。
获得了令人满意的分析性能，相关系数为 0.996；最大的批内和批间精密度分别为 1.85%和 5.20%。检测限和定量限分别为 3 和 9 ng/mL，总过程效率为 93.2%。所开发的方法成功应用于 9 个来自当地点钞机的钞票灰尘样品。发现的浓度范围为每克钞票灰尘中 2.18E + 02 至 2.31E + 03 μg 的可卡因，仅相差一个数量级，远低于钞票上的可卡因浓度。
为了了解一个地理区域的可卡因流通情况，与钞票相比，钞票灰尘的采样在统计学意义、更高的可卡因浓度和更低的变异性方面具有巨大优势：从社会学角度来看，这是至关重要的。
