Amphetamine, methamphetamine, and MDMA in hair samples from a rehabilitation facility: Validation and applicability of HF-LPME-GC-MS

Abstract

Introduction: It is known that drug abuse jeopardizes economic and social development. Toxicological analyses can guide prevention and treatment strategies in rehabilitation facilities. The current greatest challenge is finding easily adaptable and less costly sensitive methods that meet the principles of green chemistry. Hair, as a biological matrix, has several advantages, and its ability to detect consumption for longer periods keeping the matrix stable and unaltered stands out. This manuscript addresses the use of a miniaturized technique in an alternative matrix, by making use of a reduced amount of solvents to quantify amphetamines, aiming to guide prevention and treatment strategies in rehabilitation facilities.

Methods: A Hollow Fiber Liquid-phase Microextraction (HF-LPME) technique for extracting amphetamines from hair samples with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (CG-MS) was validated, adapted, and applied to ten samples from patients of a rehabilitation facility.

Results: The technique proved to be sensitive, accurate, precise, and not affected by interference from the biological matrix and the linear range for the analytes was 0.2 to 20 ng mg ^-1. The three analytes were quantified in the samples analyzed. It is worth stressing that the patients were young.

Conclusion: The HF-LPME-GC-MS technique complied with the principles of green chemistry, and proved to be a sensitive technique, adaptable to the routine of common laboratories. Validation in the analysis phase with authentic samples, thus, showed that it can be an important tool for preventing and controlling drug addiction.

Keywords: Amphetamines; Analytical validation; Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hair samples; Hollow Fiber Liquid-phase Microextraction; Methods; Rehabilitation facility.