Juan Sánchez-González

Simple and Sensitive Molecularly Imprinted Polymer – Mn-Doped ZnS Quantum Dots Based Fluorescence Probe for Cocaine and Metabolites Determination in Urine

A new molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-based fluorescent artificial receptor has been prepared by anchoring a selective MIP for cocaine (COC) on the surface of polyethylene glycol (PEG) modified Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs). The prepared material combines the high selectivity attributed to MIPs and the sensitive fluorescent property of the Mn-doped ZnS QDs. Simple and low cost methods have therefore been optimized for assessing cocaine abuse in urine by monitoring the fluorescence quenching when the template (COC) and also metabolites from COC [benzoylecgonine (BZE) and ecgonine methyl ester (EME)] are present. Fluorescence quenching was not observed when performing experiments with other drugs of abuse (and their metabolites) or when using nonimprinted polymer (NIP)-coated QDs. Under optimized operating conditions (1.5 mL of 200 mg L(-1) MIP-coated QDs solution, pH 5.5, and 15 min before fluorescence scanning) two analytical methods were developed/validated. One of the procedures (direct method) consisted of urine sample 1:20 dilution before fluorescence measurements. The method has been found to be fast, precise, and accurate, but the standard addition technique for performing the analysis was required because of the existence of matrix effect. The second procedure performed a solid phase extraction (SPE) first, avoiding matrix effect and allowing external calibration. The limits of detection of the methods were 0.076 mg L(-1) (direct method) and 0.0042 mg L(-1) (SPE based method), which are lower than the cutoff values for confirmative conclusions regarding cocaine abuse.

Determination of cocaine and its metabolites in plasma by porous membrane-protected molecularly imprinted polymer micro-solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A selective molecularly imprinted polymer synthesized for the selective retention of cocaine (COC) and its metabolites [benzoylecgonine (BZE), ecgonine methyl ester (EME), and cocaethylene (CE)] was used as a solid adsorbent for assessing cocaine abuse by plasma analysis. The MIP beads (50mg) were loaded inside a cone shaped device made of a polypropylene (PP) membrane for micro-solid-phase extraction (μ-SPE). High performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was used for quantifying the analytes after MIP-μ-SPE. The best retention capabilities were reached when loading plasma samples (within the 0.1-5.0mL range), previously adjusted to pH 5.5 by orbital-horizontal shaking (150rpm, 50°C) for 10min. Analyte elution was achieved by subjecting the MIP-μ-SPE device to ultrasound (37kHz, 325W) with 10mL of dichloromethane/2-propanol/ammonium hydroxide (76:20:4) for 8min. After eluate evaporation to dryness and re-dissolution in 100μL of mobile phase, the MIP-μ-SPE method yielded a pre-concentration factor of 50. Precision was assessed by intra-day and inter-day assays, and accuracy (intraday and inter-day analytical recovery, as well as the analysis of a BTMF 1/11-B control serum sample) show that the developed method is highly precise and accurate. In addition, the limits of detection, ranging from 0.061ngmL(-1) for COC to 0.87ngmL(-1) for BZE, were low enough for confirmative conclusions regarding cocaine abuse. The method was used for screening/quantifying cocaine and metabolites in plasma samples from poly-drug abusers.