Assessment of a portable quadrupole-based gas chromatography mass spectrometry for seized drug analysis.

The cutting agents, classified as diluents (pharmacologically inactive) or adulterants (pharmacologically active), are substances commonly used to cut drugs of abuse to increase profits. These substances are constantly changing over time, increasing the risks to the user's health caused by the compounds' potential individual toxicities as well as their drug-drug interactions. This work aimed to develop and validate a screening method using a portable quadrupole-based gas chromatography mass spectrometer (FLIR Griffin™ G510) to identify drugs of abuse and adulterants in seized material, and compare it with a well validated standard technology, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The method was validated for the identification of alprazolam, amphetamine, aminopyrine, benzocaine, caffeine, cocaine, codeine, diltiazem, ephedrine, fentanyl, fenethylline, furanylfentanyl, heroin, hydroxyzine, levamisole, lidocaine, methamphetamine, morphine, noramidopyrine (a marker of metamizole), phencyclidine, phenacetin, procaine, strychnine and xylazine. The targeted substances were chosen based on current intelligence regarding prevalent adulterants observed in multiple jurisdictions. Interference, precision, robustness and carryover were evaluated. The method was successfully validated and proved to be suitable to detect and identify the 24 target compounds proposed. The reliability of the instrument for detecting the presence of targeted compounds was analyzed by using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. The portable quadrupole-based gas chromatography mass spectrometer was considered suitable for use in forensic analysis as a screening method.

Detection of Cutting Agents in Drug-Positive Seized Exhibits within the United States.

The following report summarizes a study performed on seized drug exhibits collected in two U.S. states to evaluate the presence and identification of cutting agents. Aliquots of seized drug materials from Kentucky (n = 200) and Vermont (n = 315) were prepared using a dilute-and-shoot procedure. Initial analysis was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) followed by analysis using liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF). Active compounds detected overall included caffeine (31.0%), quinine/quinidine (24.7%), levamisole (11.6%), acetaminophen, (8.2%) and procaine (8.2%). These compounds were found with several drugs of abuse, such as heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine. This novel information about cutting agents used to dilute or alter drugs of abuse is important to criminal investigations and in the management of acute intoxications at health centers. However, common methodologies for analysis and standard reporting practices frequently do not include cutting agents, resulting in lacking or inadequate information regarding prevalence of these substances.