In recent years, drug abuse has become one of the leading causes of accidental deaths across the country. The opioid crisis was one of the main manifestations of drug-related addictions that caused severe dependency and, in too many cases, fatal overdoses. In this application note, UCT offers a simple yet effective procedure to extract and monitor an extensive panel of opiates in blood and urine using solid-phase extraction (SPE) combined with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLCMS/MS). Clean Screen® DAU is UCT’s flagship SPE cartridge that can be used to extract a wide range of natural and synthetic opioids with excellent recoveries and overall precision.
In addition, UCT’s Selectra® DA UHPLC column provides excellent retention and peak shape for all the opioids included in the method, including baseline separation of the critical isobaric compounds. Furthermore, all compounds eluted in less than 8 minutes from the Selectra® DA UHPLC column. The simple protocol outlined in this application note can be readily implemented in pain management, clinical diagnostics, and forensic analysis.
Sample Pretreatment:
Urine Specimens*:
- To 1 mL of urine add 1 mL of pH 6 phosphate buffer (0.1M) and the appropriate volume of internal standard(s)
- Mix/vortex briefly
٭ A hydrolysis protocol is required if conjugated compounds are added into the drug panel.
Blood Specimens:
- To 1 mL of blood add 4 mL of pH 6 phosphate buffer (0.1M) and the appropriate volume of internal standard(s)
- Mix/vortex briefly
- If necessary (e.g. postmortem blood), centrifuge the sample for 10 minutes at 3000 rpm (discard pellet after loading sample onto SPE cartridge)
>> Download the Full Application Note as a PDF
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