Nadia De Giovanni

Simultaneous detection of some drugs of abuse in saliva samples by SPME technique

A simple method for the simultaneous determination of many drugs of abuse in saliva is referred [methadone, 2-ethyl-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolinium perchlorate (EDDP), cocaine, cocaethylene, amphetamine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), 3,4-methylenedioxyethyl amphetamine (MDEA), N-methyl-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamine (MBDB), cannabidiol (CBD), Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabinol (CBN)]. Head space-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and direct immersion-solid phase microextraction (DI-SPME) followed by gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric analyses (GC/MS) were employed, and results obtained with both techniques are discussed. The method was validated testing reproducibility, sensitivity, linearity.

Adulterants encountered in the illicit cocaine market

Illicit cocaine samples (156), seized on Romes illegal market between January 1996 and June 1997, were examined. Both the purity of the cocaine and the presence of substances employed for dilution were determined for each sample. Adulterants were found in many of the street samples analysed. Lidocaine (average 14.7%) followed by caffeine (average 9%) proved to be the adulterants most frequently encountered in the cocaine samples.

Cozart Rapiscan System: our experience with saliva tests

International literature has devoted many contributions to the evaluation of alternative biological matrices (such as saliva) as diagnostic tools in drug testing. The immunoassay Cozart Rapiscan saliva drug system, has been studied in recent years. In the present paper we report our experience with saliva collection and the quali-quantitative determination of drugs of abuse. Fifty-nine saliva samples were collected by the Cozart Rapiscan pad. Qualitative analyses were carried out by Cozart Rapiscan System and the results were confirmed by a solid-phase microextraction-GC-MS technique. Quantitative determinations were performed for methadone and its metabolite by GC-MS technique. The Cozart System provides collection and transfer procedures more easily than other systems, requiring minimal operator intervention.

Methadone in hair and sweat from patients in long-term maintenance therapy.

The authors refer to their experience with alternative matrices to supervise the methadone therapy of heroin abusers. For this purpose, hair, sweat, and urine samples were collected from 10 heroin addicts and from a control group and were submitted to gas chromatographic/mass spectroscopic analysis for methadone and its main metabolite, 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP), determination. The advantages of alternative matrices to urine samples in the supervision of methadone maintenance therapy are discussed. In particular, the detection of methadone in sweat could be a preferable option to the urine matrix as a result of the feasibility of sampling that allows noninvasive collection, which is not susceptible to adulteration. The ratio between EDDP and methadone in sweat and hair was also calculated to provide information about program agreement.

Analysis of benzodiazepines. I: Chromatographic identification

Abstract The chromatographic mobilities of nineteen benzodiazepines were determined by thin-layer, gas—liquid, high-resolution gas—liquid and high-performance liquid chromatography. The results were correlated with literature data.

Simultaneous detection of cocaine and heroin metabolites in urine by solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

The present paper reports a method for the simultaneous extraction of cocaine, heroin and their metabolites from small amounts of urine (0.5 ml), using deuterated internal standards. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) on C18 columns followed by chromatographic separation coupled with mass spectrometry allowed the detection of all the substances after their derivatization. Mass spectrometry was performed in the electron-impact selected-ion monitoring (EI-SIM) mode. The limit of detection was found to be as low as 50 ng/ml for all the analytes; for reproducibility the C.V. was always better than 7%; the method was found to be linear with correlation coefficients between 0.989 and 1.00.

Sweat Testing to Monitor Drug Exposure

Recently, there has been an enormous increase in the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine addiction. Fifteen male cocaine users aged 20–30 years who requested hair analysis from our forensic toxicology laboratory (Perugia, Italy) from March to June 2012, reported using scopolamine without medical supervision to reduce the anxiety associated with cocaine withdrawal. Self-reports were verified with the results obtained from the hair analysis. We discuss whether the use of scopolamine in cocaine abusers could be supported by a neurobiological and pharmacological point of view.

Cocaine and its metabolites in the placenta: a systematic review of the literature.

It is clear that cocaine and cocaine metabolites are present in the placenta and may harm the fetus. The results of the experimental manipulation of cocaine exposure are not reported in the literature in a consistent manner. We conducted a systematic review of selected articles that demonstrated the analytical detection of cocaine and its metabolites in the placenta and that were published from January 1, 1956-June 30, 2011 using Medline, Toxline and Scopus databases. The collected data confirm that the placenta does not act as a barrier to fetal exposure, that cocaine quickly crosses the placenta and that one of the essential roles of the placenta is to metabolize cocaine during pregnancy. Our systematic review summarized the results showing that cocaine, benzoylecgonine and norcocaine are stored in the myometrium and the placental membrane and maintain continuous drug delivery to the amniotic fluid (and to the fetus) probably via diffusion.

Quantification of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in meconium for detection of alcohol abuse during pregnancy: Correlation study between both biomarkers

This article presents results from 47 meconium samples, which were analyzed for fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG) for detection of gestational alcohol consumption. A validated microwave assisted extraction (MAE) method in combination with GC-MS developed in the Institute of Forensic Science (Santiago de Compostela) was used for FAEE and the cumulative concentration of ethyl myristate, ethyl palmitate and ethyl stearate with a cut-off of 600ng/g was applied for interpretation. A simple method for identification and quantification of EtG has been evaluated by ultrasonication followed solid phase extraction (SPE). Successful validation parameters were obtained for both biochemical markers of alcohol intake. FAEE and EtG concentrations in meconium ranged between values lower than LOD and 32,892ng/g or 218ng/g respectively. We have analyzed FAEE and EtG in the same meconium aliquot, enabling comparison of the efficiency of gestational ethanol exposure detection. Certain agreement between the two biomarkers was found as they are both a very specific alcohol markers, making it a useful analysis for confirmation.

Buprenorphine detection in biological samples.

Abstract Buprenorphine is a narcotic analgesic used in the treatment of moderate-to-severe pain. In Italy, buprenorphine is now being used as an alternative in the therapeutic treatment of heroin abusers. Even if confirmation methods are needed for identification and quantitation, a rapid and sensitive test, such as an immunoassay, is essential for screening. We evaluated the Buprenorphine One-step ELISA test (designed for serum specimens) for the qualitative determination of buprenorphine in other matrices, such as urine, saliva and hair.