“The Big Pain”: Development of Pain-Free Methods for Analyzing 231 Multiclass Drugs and Metabolites by LC-MS/MS

As the use of prescription and nonprescription drugs grows, the need for fast, accurate, and comprehensive methods is also rapidly increasing. Historically, drug testing has focused on forensic applications such as cause of death determinations or the detection of drug use in specific populations (military, workplace, probation/parole, sports doping). However, modern drug testing has expanded well into the clinical arena with a growing list of target analytes and testing purposes. Clinicians often request the analysis of large panels of drugs and metabolites that can be used to ensure compliance with prescribed pain medication regimens and to detect abuse or diversion of medications. With prescription drug abuse reaching epidemic levels [1], demand is growing for analytical methods that can ensure accurate results for comprehensive drug lists with reasonable analysis times. LC-MS/MS is an excellent technique for this work because it offers greater sensitivity and specificity than immunoassay and—with a highly selective and retentive Raptor™ Biphenyl column—can provide definitive results for a wide range of compounds.