Extractions of Illicit Drugs from Wastewater using Empore™ Syringe-type Membrane SPE Cartridge

Abstract

This application note demonstrates the performance of Empore MPC EZ-disk to extract forensic drugs and their metabolites in LC. Water samples were processed with the assistance of the EZ-Trace SPE workstation. The recovery is reported for all 10 illicit drugs for this method and demonstrates that the Empore™ MPC EZ-Disk is effective for extraction of polar molecules, such as illicit drugs, from wastewater.

Introduction

Illicit drugs and their metabolites are frequently detected in wastewater. The type of illicit drugs that are detected, along with their measured concentrations, often provides insight into drug use and trafficking patterns within a region.¹ Additionally, the presence of illicit drugs in waterways has the potential of causing adverse health effects on aquatic life. Furthermore, by leaching into soils, farm animals and humans are at greater risk of becoming negatively affected as well.² Consequentially, there is a need for effectively and reproducibily extracting illicit drugs from water samples.