Extraction and analysis methods for fentanyl and fentanyl analogues in whole blood and urine

Introduction

Fentanyl and fentanyl-related analogues have been identified as the root cause of several notable drug overdoses in recent years. The demand for testing of these drugs has rapidly increased due to the opioid epidemic affecting many cities across the United States and Canada. Urine and whole blood are common matrices of choice for forensic laboratories as they can be easy to collect, and they provide relevant information regarding recent or active use of illicit materials. Obtaining optimal analytical results from either matrix will require adequate sample preparation to remove interferences and isolate compounds of interest. Several options exist for effective preparation of whole blood and urine. Some may involve minimal effort, such as the dual-mode extraction (DME+), while others may require more complex methodologies, such as solid phase extraction (SPE) with mixed-mode polymeric ion exchange sorbents. Each method of sample preparation will yield extracts of different levels of cleanliness. The results of different extraction procedures for both whole blood and urine spiked with 16 fentanyl analogues was collected via LC-MS/MS and compared to identify practical considerations for optimal workflows.

Literature number: P209