Determination of the designer drugs 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine, and 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine with HPLC and fluorescence detection in whole blood, serum, vitreous humor, and urine
Km. Clauwaert et al., Determination of the designer drugs 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine, and 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine with HPLC and fluorescence detection in whole blood, serum, vitreous humor, and urine, CLIN CHEM, 46(12), 2000, pp. 1968-1977
Background: The popular designer drugs 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (M
DMA) and 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA) can be determined in ser
um, whole blood, and urine, but also in vitreous humor. The latter matrix i
s interesting when dealing with decomposed bodies in a toxicological settin
g.
Methods: After extraction, chromatographic separation was achieved on a nar
row-bore C-18 column by gradient elution with fluorometric detection; resul
ts were confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/
MS).
Results: The method was linear over the range of 2-1000 mug/L for whole blo
od, serum, and vitreous humor, and 0.1-5 mg/L for urine. Extraction recover
ies were >70%, imprecision (CV) was 2.5-19%, and analytical recoveries were
95.5-104.4%. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification
(LOQ) were 0.8 and 2 mug/L, respectively, for whole blood, serum, and vitre
ous humor, and 2.5 mug/L and 0.1 mg/L, respectively, for urine. Excellent c
orrelations between the quantitative LC-fluorescence and LC-MS/MS results w
ere obtained. We found the following concentrations in a thanatochemical di
stribution study in rabbits: in serum, 5.3-685 mug/L for MDMA and from the
LOQ to 14.5 mug/L for 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA); in whole blood,
19.7-710 mug/L for MDMA and from the LOQ to 17.8 mug/L for MDA; in vitreous
humor, 12.1-97.8 mug/L for MDMA and from the LOQ to 3.86 mug/L for MDA. In
routine toxicological urine samples, concentrations ranged from LOQ to 14,
62 mg/L for MDA, from LOQ to 157 mg/L for MDMA, and from LOQ to 32.54 mg/L
for MDEA.
Conclusions: The HPLC method described is sensitive, specific, and suitable
for the determination of MDMA, MDEA, and MDA in whole blood, serum, vitreo
us humor, and urine. (C) 2000 American Association for Clinical Chemistry.