Comparison of extraction procedures for benzodiazepines determination in hair by LC-MS/MS.

Introduction: The use of a LC-MS/MS system for benzodiazepines detection remarkably increased the analytical sensitivity of these drugs in biological matrices, in particular in non-conventional ones such as hair. Since the amount of hair sample available for the analysis is frequently limited and, moreover, it needs to be checked for many other drugs and compounds of forensic interest, it is important to develop a sample preparation procedure able to detect either benzodiazepines and as many as possible other substances. The aim of this study was to compare the sensitivity of two different hair sample preparation procedures for benzodiazepines detection in hair.