Quantitative determination by UHPLC-MS/MS of 18 common drugs of abuse and metabolites, including THC and OH-THC, in volumetric dried blood spots: a sustainable method with minimally invasive sampling.

The increased use of drugs of abuse urges forensic toxicologists to create quick, simple, minimally invasive sampling techniques for biological fluids combined with analytical methods assuring accurate results. To this purpose, a method was developed aimed at quantifying 18 drugs of abuse and metabolites in DBS. Validation of the method was conducted by spiking blank whole blood with the analytes on Capitainer® B cards.

An initial exploration of machine learning for establishing associations between genetic markers and THC levels in Cannabis sativa samples.

Cannabis sativa, a globally commercialized plant used for medicinal, food, fiber production, and recreation, necessitates effective identification to distinguish legal and illegal varieties in forensic contexts. This research utilizes multivariate statistical models and Machine Learning approaches to establish correlations between specific genotypes and tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-THC) content (%) in C. sativa samples.

Development and validation of the UHPLC-MS/MS method for the quantitative determination of 25 PFAS in dried blood spots.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are anthropogenic fluorine-containing compounds largely used in industrial and consumer applications. They tend to bioaccumulate in the human body after intake from various sources in daily life. Following repeated exposure to PFAS, a broad range of adverse health outcomes has been reported.

Method development for the quantification of nine nitazene analogs and brorphine in Dried Blood Spots utilizing liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry.

The detection of nitazenes in biological fluids is increasingly needed as they are repeatedly reported in intoxication and overdose cases. A simple method for the quantification of low levels of nine nitazene analogs and brorphine in Dried Blood Spots (DBS) was developed and validated. 10 μL of spiked whole blood is deposited on a Capitainer®B card and allowed to dry.

Metabolic study of new psychoactive substance methoxpropamine in mice by UHPLC-QTOF-HRMS.

Methoxpropamine (MXPr) is an arylcyclohexylamine dissociative drug structurally similar to 3-methoxyeticyclidine, ketamine, and deschloroketamine, recently appeared in the European illegal market, and was classified within the new psychoactive substances (NPS). Our study investigated the metabolism of MXPr to elucidate the distribution of the parent drug and its metabolites in body fluids and fur of 16 mice. After the intraperitoneal administration of MXPr (1, 3, and 10 mg/kg), urine samples from eight male and eight female mice were collected every hour for six consecutive hours and then at 12- to 24-h intervals.

Recent advances in the detection of drugs of abuse by dried blood spots.

The purpose of this review study was to sum up the main recent advances reported in the scientific literature about the detection of common drugs of abuse in biological samples upon their collection by dried blood spot devices. The most recent, innovative and fully validated methods for the qualitative and/or quantitative detection of common drugs of abuse are reported, including alprazolam, clonazepam, diazepam, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, 3,4-methyl-enedioxyethylamphetamine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, tetrahydrocannabinol, 6-monoacetylmorphine, morphine, codeine, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, oxycodone, noroxycodone, tramadol, methadone, buprenorphine, fentanyl, ketamine and their respective metabolites and γ-hydroxybutyric acid. Dried blood spot proved to be extremely promising for routine analysis of forensic cases, although large-scale experiments on real samples need to be performed to confirm the emerging advantages of the technique and remove the potential limitations still affecting its widespread application.