New, novel benzodiazepines have become some of the most abused unique psychoactive substances seen today. In the United States, these compounds are not approved for prescription use. Therefore, the demand for testing of these drugs has rapidly increased, both in the United States and worldwide. 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 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 fortified with 12 novel benzodiazepine compounds were collected via LC-MS/MS and compared to identify practical considerations for optimal workflows
Literature number: P225