Analysis of whole blood for drugs of abuse using EMIT d.a.u. reagents and a Monarch 1000 Chemistry Analyzer.

This paper describes refinements in procedures coupling methanolic extraction-precipitation of whole blood with subsequent screening for commonly encountered drugs of abuse using EMIT d.a.u. reagents on a Monarch Chemistry Analyzer. The automation capabilities inherent in the Monarch make batch processing of samples convenient and cost effective. The small sample volume requirement of the Monarch allows greater sensitivities and use of lower cutoffs than previously reported. Subsequent analysis of EMIT positives by GC/MS confirmed the presence of the indicated drugs of abuse 86.7% of the time.