Min Shen

Segmental hair analysis using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry after a single dose of benzodiazepines

In China, benzodiazepines are the most frequently observed compounds in cases of drug-facilitated crime. Sensitive, specific, and reproducible methods for the quantitative determination of 18 benzodiazepines in hair have been developed using LC-MS/MS. Fourteen volunteers had ingested a single 1-6mg estazolam tablet. Hair was collected 1 month after administration. All the proximal segments were positive for estazolam. With increased dosage, estazolam can be detected in the 2-4cm segments in some subjects hair. Even some of 4-6cm segments were positive. Hair analysis was applied to two authentic criminal cases. Full-length hair samples collected 5 weeks after the offense were cut into segments of 2cm from the root, analyzed and quantified. The clonazepam concentrations measured in the first two segments for V#1 and V#2 were 15.47 and 11.93pg/mg, respectively. However, both the 4-6cm and the 6-8cm segment of V1# remained positive, while those of V#2 were negative. It needs more substantial guidelines to use segmental hair analysis in drug-facilitated crime.

Detection of antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs in human hair

The presence of therapeutic drugs and their metabolites in the hair of psychiatric patients was investigated using gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectroscopy (MS)-electron ionization (EI) and GC-MS-chemical ionization (CI). In hair samples tested from 35 subjects, carbamazepine, amitriptyline, doxepin, trihexyphenidyl, chlorpromazine, chlorprothixene, trifluoperazine, clozapine and haloperidol were detected, with maximal concentrations of 22.5, 57.7, 183.3, 15.6, 68.2, 30.0, 36.8, 59.2 and 20.1 ng/mg of hair sample, respectively. Chlorpromazine and clozapine concentrations in the hair were found to be dependent on the dosage used and their correlation coefficients were 0.8047 (P<0.001, n=16) and 0.7097 (P<0.001, n=16), respectively. Segmental analysis demonstrated that there was a correlation between the history of subjects drug exposure and the distribution of drug along the hair shaft. Our results also show that drug analysis in hair may provide useful information about drug treatment and the history of usage, and that drugs can be detected in normally kept hair for at least 16 months after intake.

Physiological concentrations of anabolic steroids in human hair.

Doping with endogenous anabolic steroids is one of the most serious issues in sports today. The measurement of anabolic steroid levels in human hair is necessary in order to distinguish between pharmaceutical steroids and natural steroids. This is the first investigation into the physiological concentrations of anabolic steroids in human hair in Chinese subjects. A gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous identification and quantitation of five endogenous anabolic steroids (testosterone, epitestosterone, androsterone, etiocholanolone and dehydroepiandrosterone) in hair. After basic hydrolysis, hair samples were extracted with diethyl ether, derivatized and then detected using GC/MS/MS in the multiple-reaction monitoring mode (MRM). The one precursor/two product ion transitions for each anabolic steroid were monitored. The limits of detection for the five endogenous anabolic steroids were in the 0.1-0.2 pg/mg range. All analytes showed good linearity and the extraction recoveries were 74.6-104.5%. Within-day and between-day precisions were less than 20%. This method was applied to the analysis of testosterone, epitestosterone, androsterone, etiocholanolone, and dehydroepiandrosterone in human hair. Full-length hair samples were taken at the skin surface from the vertex of 39 males, 30 females and 11 children from China. None of the subjects were professional athletes. Testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone were detected in all the hair segments. The physiological concentrations of testosterone were in the range 0.8-24.2 pg/mg, 0.1-16.8 pg/mg and 0.2-11.5 pg/mg in males, females and children, respectively, however, the mean values of dehydroepiandrosterone were much higher than the concentrations of testosterone. These data are suitable reference values and are the basis for the interpretation of results from investigations into the abuse of endogenous anabolic steroids.

Determination of bromadiolone and brodifacoum in human blood using LC-ESI/MS/MS and its application in four superwarfarin poisoning cases

Superwarfarin poisoning is a growing health problem. A sensitive and reproducible LC-ESI/MS/MS (liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry) method was developed and validated for the determination of bromadiolone and brodifacoum, the most commonly used superwarfarins, in human blood using warfarin-D5 as an internal standard. Bromadiolone and brodifacoum were extracted from whole blood samples by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. Multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) was used to detect bromadiolone and brodifacoum using precursor→product ion combinations of m/z 525→250 and 521→135, respectively. The calibration curves were linear (r(2)=0.9999) in the concentration range of 0.5-100.0 ng/mL for bromadiolone and brodifacoum, with a lower limit of detection of 0.1 and 0.2 ng/mL, respectively, in whole blood. This method detected trace levels of bromadiolone and brodifacoum in whole blood samples and can be used in the diagnosis of poisoned human beings.

Determination of ethyl glucuronide in hair samples of Chinese people by protein precipitation (PPT) and large volume injection-gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LVI-GC/MS/MS)

Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) has been shown to be a suitable marker of excessive alcohol consumption. Determination of EtG in hair samples may help to differentiate social drinkers from alcoholics, and this testing can be widely used in forensic science, treatment programs, workplaces, military bases as well as driving ability test to provide legal proof of drinking. A method for determination of EtG in hair samples using large volume injection-gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LVI-GC/MS/MS) was developed and validated. Hair samples (in 1 mL deionized water) were ultrasonicated for 1h and incubated overnight; these samples were then deproteinated to remove impurities and derivatisated with 15 μL of pyridine and 30 μL of BSTFA. EtG was detected using GC/MS/MS in multiple-reaction monitoring mode. This method exhibited good linearity: y=0.0036 x+0.0437, R²=0.9993, the limit of detection and the limit of quantification were 5 pg/mg and 10 pg/mg, respectively. The extraction recoveries were more than 60%, and the inter-day and intra-day relative standard deviations (RSD) were less than 15%. This method has been applied to the analysis of EtG in hair samples from 21 Chinese subjects. The results for samples obtained from all of those who were teetotallers were negative, and the results for the other 15 samples ranged from 10 to 78 pg/mg, except for one negative sample. These data are the basis for interpretation of alcohol abuse.

Disappearance of 6-acetylmorphine, morphine and codeine from human scalp hair after discontinuation of opiate abuse

Opiates continue to be used at high rates in East and Southeast Asia. Hair analysis for drugs of abuse has been developed into a powerful and widely used tool in forensic and clinical toxicology. Specifically, testing the proximal segment of scalp hair to confirm morphine (MOR) positive urine samples could solve the poppy seed problem. Human scalp hair grows approximately 1cm per month and can therefore reflect a retrospective timeline of drug exposure. This study is the first to investigate the disappearance of 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM), MOR and codeine (COD) from human scalp hair after the discontinuation of drug use. Thirty-two healthy women (ages 21-51 years) with a known history of heroin abuse, who went to a rehabilitation centre and ceased consuming heroin (for 4-5 months), were recruited into the study. A pharmacokinetic analysis in seven individual hair segments was performed using a first-order kinetic. Assuming a rate of hair growth of 1cm/month, the mean hair elimination half-lives of 6-AM, MOR and COD were 0.88 months (95% CI, 0.74-1.03), 0.73 months (95% CI, 0.64-0.81), and 0.61 months (95% CI, 0.54-0.69), respectively. Our results suggest that to evaluate the discontinuation of opiate abuse after a 6-month period of abstinence, the results from a 3-cm proximal hair segment should be free of 6-AM at the proposed 0.2 ng/mg cutoff level. This finding should become the basis for the interpretation of results from segmental hair analyses in the evaluation of drug abstinence.

CYP3A4 and CYP2C19 genetic polymorphisms and zolpidem metabolism in the Chinese Han population: A pilot study☆

Zolpidem (ZPD) is an imidazopyridine hypnotic and little is known about the pharmacogenetics of ZPD. Our objective was to evaluate inter-individual genetic variation in conjunction with metabolic ratios of ZPD found in a toxicological analysis. Healthy individuals (n=300) were genotyped for CYP2D6, CYP2C19, CYP2C9, CYP3A4 and CYP1A2 by allele-specific primer extension followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Twenty-four Chinese volunteers were chosen and divided into the following four groups (n=6/group): group 1: CYP3A4*18 (wild-type, W), CYP2C19*2 (W); group 2: CYP3A4*18 (mutant, M), CYP2C19*2 (W); group 3: CYP3A4*18 (W), CYP2C19*2 (M); and group 4: CYP3A4*18 (M), CYP2C19*2 (M). ZPD and its major metabolites zolpidem 6-carboxylic acid (ZCA) and zolpidem phenyl-4-carboxylic acid (ZPCA) were determined after oral administration of ZPD (10mg), using an UPLC-MS/MS method. Positive correlations between CYP3A4 and CYP2C19 alleles and ZPD metabolism were found. The results of this study show that CYP3A4*18 increases CYP3A4 activity while CYP2C19*2 reduces CYP2C19 activity; the latter mutation is associated with the poor metabolism of ZPD in the Chinese Han population. The results also suggest that genetic factors play a major role in the metabolism of individual drugs with implications for both forensic science and clinical pharmacogenetics.

Analysis of 50 SNPs in CYP2D6, CYP2C19, CYP2C9, CYP3A4 and CYP1A2 by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in Chinese Han population.

One of the major challenges in the near future is the identification of genes that affect the metabolism of different drugs. Large scale association studies that utilise single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been considered a valuable tool for this purpose. CYP2D6, CYP2C19, CYP2C9, CYP3A4 and CYP1A2 were found to be involved in the majority of hepatically cleared drugs. To determine the allele frequencies of some SNPs that may have great potential value in forensic science, we screened 50 SNPs in these 5 CYP genes in Chinese Han people using an accurate, high-throughput, cost-effective method. Primers were designed using the MassARRAY Assay Design software. Genomic DNA was prepared from blood samples obtained from individuals of Chinese Han origin. Multiplex PCR was performed to amplify the relevant gene fragments, and the polymorphisms were analysed by allele-specific primer extension followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). A panel of genomic DNA samples previously genotyped by other methods were analysed simultaneously for quality control, and the results demonstrated that this assay was 100% accurate. A total of 17 of the analysed SNPs were polymorphic. Of these 17 SNPs, 8 (rs16947, rs28371725, rs1800754, rs4244285, rs4986893, rs12248560, rs3758580, rs2242480) had an allele frequency that was significantly different between this Chinese Han population and Caucasians (p<0.01). In addition, the frequencies of two of these SNPs (rs1800754, rs3758581) in our Chinese Han population differed significantly from the existing Chinese frequency data (p<0.01). The described method thus provides reliable results and enables the genotyping of up to thousands of samples by taking advantage of the high-throughput MALDI-TOF technology. The results herein are now included as a supplement to the P450 database.

The stability of tetramine, morphine and meperidine in formalin solution

The stability of tetramine, morphine and meperidine in formalin solution is an important factor for drug analysis in forensic investigation. In this paper, the tissues (liver, kidney, lung and heart) from poisoned rabbits were immersed in 50 ml 10% formalin solutions for 4 months before examination. We compared the levels of tetramine, morphine, meperidine and the main metabolite normeperidine, measured by GC/NPD or GC-MS, in frozen rabbit tissues, formalin-fixed rabbit tissues, and formalin solution. There was a decrease in the levels of tetramine, morphine, meperidine in formalin-preserved tissues compared with the levels of these drugs in the frozen tissues. It is suggested that the formalin-fixed tissues and formalin solution should be analyzed at the same time to assure the accurate results.

Analysis of anabolic steroids in hair: time courses in guinea pigs.

Sensitive, specific, and reproducible methods for the quantitative determination of eight anabolic steroids in guinea pig hair have been developed using LC/MS/MS and GC/MS/MS. Methyltestosterone, stanozolol, methandienone, nandrolone, trenbolone, boldenone, methenolone and DHEA were administered intraperitoneally in guinea pigs. After the first injection, black hair segments were collected on shaved areas of skin. The analysis of these segments revealed the distribution of anabolic steroids in the guinea pig hair. The major components in hair are the parent anabolic steroids. The time courses of the concentrations of the steroids in hair (except methenolone, which does not deposit in hair) demonstrated that the peak concentrations were reached on days 2-4, except stanozolol, which peaked on day 10 after administration. The concentrations in hair appeared to be related to the physicochemical properties of the drug compound and to the dosage. These studies on the distribution of drugs in the hair shaft and on the time course of their concentration changes provide information relevant to the optimal time and method of collecting hair samples. Such studies also provide basic data that will be useful in the application of hair analysis in the control of doping and in the interpretation of results.