heroin and ecgonine-methyl-ester

A sensitive and specific method is presented to simultaneously quantify methadone, heroin, cocaine and metabolites in sweat. Drugs were eluted from sweat patches with sodium acetate buffer, followed by SPE and quantification by GC/MS with electron impact ionization and selected ion monitoring. Daily calibration for anhydroecgonine methyl ester, ecgonine methyl ester, cocaine, benzoylecgonine (BE), codeine, morphine, 6-acetylcodeine, 6-acetylmorphine (6AM), heroin (5-1000 ng/patch) and methadone (10-1000 ng/patch) achieved determination coefficients of >0.995, and calibrators quantified to within +/-20% of the target concentrations. Extended calibration curves (1000-10,000 ng/patch) were constructed for methadone, cocaine, BE and 6AM by modifying injection techniques. Within (N = 5) and between-run (N = 20) imprecisions were calculated at six control levels across the dynamic ranges with coefficients of variation of <6.5%. Accuracies at these concentrations were +/-11.9% of target. Heroin hydrolysis during specimen processing was <11%. This novel assay offers effective monitoring of drug exposure during drug treatment, workplace and criminal justice monitoring programs.

Topics: Cocaine; Codeine; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Heroin; Humans; Methadone; Morphine Derivatives; Solid Phase Extraction; Sweat

A capillary electrophoresis method was developed to detect interactions between methadone and anti-retroviral compounds. Eight subjects, who underwent methadone maintenance treatment in the Province of Alicante (Spain), consented to participate in the present study. Of those, one subject was followed up for 123 days to detect drug-drug interactions. The enantiomers of methadone and those of its main metabolite were conveniently resolved within 4 min using a chiral electrophoresis buffer mixture which consisted of phosphate buffer, pH 5, plus 0.2% highly sulphated-(beta)-cyclodextrin. The effective mobility of the analytes was in the 0.061-0.140 cm(2)/(kV s) range at pH 5. The R-methadone plasma concentration range for seven patients was 91-318 ng/mL, it decreased from 186 to 46 ng/mL in a patient followed-up on commencement of the anti-retroviral therapy, returning to the previous higher levels after progressive dose increases. We conclude that monitoring R-methadone plasma levels can be a useful tool for the dose adjustment of methadone.

Topics: Adult; Anti-Retroviral Agents; Cocaine; Drug Interactions; Electrophoresis, Capillary; Heroin; HIV; HIV Infections; Humans; Male; Methadone; Narcotics; Reproducibility of Results; Stereoisomerism; Substance Abuse, Intravenous

Two types of immunoassays, radioimmunoassay (RIA) and microplate enzyme immunoassay (EIA), were compared for their ability to detect and quantitate cocaine and metabolites or heroin and metabolites in extracts of sweat patches. Experiments used sweat patches that had been fortified with cocaine, benzoylecgonine (BE), and ecgonine methyl ester (EME) or 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM), heroin, and morphine. Assays were first evaluated for sensitivity in detection of the analyte(s) known to be excreted in sweat (cocaine >> BE and EME; 6-AM > heroin > morphine). The cocaine metabolite RIA had cross-reactivity for cocaine > BE > EME, and the cocaine metabolite EIA had cross-reactivity for BE > cocaine >> EME. The RIA, having greater sensitivity for COC, was studied further. Optimal linearity was 4 to 200 ng/patch, and quantitation within these limits at 4, 75, and 150 ng/patch had intrarun %CVs within 7.8% and percent targets within 15% and inter-run %CVs within 13.5% and % targets within 13%. The opiate RIA had cross-reactivities for morphine >> 6-AM and heroin. The opiate EIA had cross-reactivities for 6-AM and heroin of 42 and 28% relative to morphine, respectively. The EIA, having greater sensitivity for 6-AM and heroin, was studied further. The limits of detection ranged from 1.7 to 24.7 ng/patch, and the lower limits of quantitation ranged from 7.3 ng/patch to beyond the linear range. The assay, however, had consistently good precision at 4 and 5 ng/patch, and optimal linearity was established from 4 to 100 ng/patch. With controls at 5, 25, and 90 ng/patch, both intrarun and inter-run precision were acceptable. Quantitation was accurate at 5 and 25 ng/patch, but the 90 ng/patch controls were consistently < 70% of target. Because our studies focused on the assays that had greater sensitivity for the analytes excreted in sweat, we did not fully evaluate the cocaine metabolite EIA or the RIA opiate screen and therefore cannot make any comment on the usefulness of these assays for detecting analytes in extracts of sweat patches beyond predicting that they will have less sensitivity. Both the cocaine metabolite RIA and opiate EIA had the ability to detect analytes known to be extracted from sweat patches.

Topics: Cocaine; Heroin; Humans; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Morphine; Morphine Derivatives; Narcotics; Radioimmunoassay; Substance Abuse Detection; Sweat

A procedure is presented for the simultaneous identification and quantification of morphine (MOR), codeine (COD), ethylmorphine (EM), 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM), cocaine (COC), benzoylecgonine (BZE), ecgonine methylester (EME) and cocaethylene (CE), contained in the hair of opiates and cocaine addicts. The method involves decontamination in dichloromethane, pulverization in a ball mill, heat-acid hydrolysis, addition of deuterated internal standards, liquid-liquid extraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) after silylation. The limit of detection (LOD) was approximately 0.1-0.8 ng/mg for each drug, using a 30-mg hair sample. The method is reproductible, with a coefficient of variation (CV) of approximately 8-17%. Cocaine and 6-monoacetylmorphine were the major compounds detected in cases of cocaine (14 cases) and heroin (68 cases) intake. Concentrations were in the range 0.4-78.4 ng/mg (COC), 0.0-36.3 ng/mg (BZE), 0.0-1.6 ng/mg (EME), 0.0-2.1 ng/mg (CE), 0.0-84.3 ng/mg (6-MAM), 0.2-27.1 ng/mg (MOR) and 0.1-19.6 ng/mg (COD). An application in forensic sciences, involving multi-sectional analysis, is given.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Calibration; Cocaine; Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; Drug Overdose; Ethylmorphine; Female; Forensic Medicine; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hair; Heroin; Humans; Male; Morphine; Morphine Derivatives; Narcotics; Reproducibility of Results

This work studies the distribution of cocaine and heroin metabolites in hair and urine of living polidrug abusers. Cocaine, benzoylecgonine (BEG), ecgonine methyl ester (EME), morphine, codeine and 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM) were simultaneously extracted and analyzed by GC/MS in SIM mode. The results obtained show a different distribution of heroin and cocaine metabolites in urine and hair. In urine, we generally find BEG and EME for cocaine abuse, and morphine for heroin abuse. In hair, we detect cocaine and MAM as major metabolites for cocaine and heroin abuse, respectively.

Topics: Cocaine; Codeine; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hair; Heroin; Humans; Morphine; Morphine Derivatives; Narcotics; Substance-Related Disorders

Saliva is an alternate biological matrix for drug testing that has several advantages over more traditional fluids such as blood and urine. Collection is rapid, noninvasive, and relatively easy to obtain. Several reports have detailed the appearance of drugs of abuse in saliva, but few have compared the excretion profiles of drugs administered by different routes. In this study, subjects were administered three smoked and three intravenous doses of heroin in an ascending dose design. Blood and saliva were collected periodically after drug administration and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for heroin, 6-acetylmorphine, and morphine. In a second study, subjects were administered a single, smoked dose of 40 mg cocaine base and an intravenous dose of 44.8 mg cocaine HO on separate occasions. Plasma and saliva were collected and analyzed by CC-MS for cocaine, anhydroecgonine methyl ester (AEME), and seven additional metabolites. Heroin and 6-acetylmorphine were detected in the first saliva sample collected (2 min) following drug administration by both routes. Peak heroin concentrations were achieved quickly, between 2 and 5 min after intravenous administration and at 2 min after smoke heroin. Peak heroin concentrations in saliva after smoking heroin base ranged from 3534 (2.6 mg) to 20,580 ng/mL (5.2 mg), and after intravenous administration, concentrations ranged from 6 (10 mg heroin HCl to 30 ng/mL (12 mg heroin HCl. Saliva concentrations of heroin declined rapidly after intravenous administration, reaching the limit of sensitivity of the assay (1 ng/mL) by 60 min. Heroin concentrations in saliva after smoking declined slowly; detection times ranged from 4 to 24 h. Cocaine was the major analyte detected in saliva and plasma after smoked and intravenous administration. Peak saliva cocaine concentrations after intravenous administration ranged from 428 to 1927 ng/mL (N = 7); after smoking, they ranged from 15,852 to 504,880 ng/mL (N = 7). Peak plasma cocaine concentrations after intravenous administration ranged from 122 to 442 ng/mL A = 7), and after smoking, concentrations ranged from 46 to 291 ng/mL A = 7). The thermal degradation product of cocaine, AEME, was detected in saliva but not in plasma after smoking. Peak saliva AEME concentrations were achieved at 2 min and ranged from 558 to 4374 ng/mL (N = 7). These are the first reported observations of heroin and metabolites in saliva following heroin smoking and of AEME in saliva af

Topics: Administration, Inhalation; Cocaine; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Half-Life; Heroin; Humans; Illicit Drugs; Injections, Intravenous; Male; Morphine; Morphine Derivatives; Narcotics; Saliva