Accurate biological testing for amphetamine and methamphetamine abuse using chiral HPLC and MS detection (Sigma-Aldrich)
In this study, optimized methods are presented for sample preparation and chiral LC-MS analysis of amphetamine and methamphetamine enantiomers in urine.
The traditionally used method for drug analysis, immunoassay, cannot distinguish between the enantiomers; hence, can give incomplete, inconclusive results. Culpability for the illicit use of amphetamine and methamphetamine rests on the ability to distinguish the contribution to the measured abused product from possible alternative sources of the L-enantiomer. Therefore, chiral separation of the enantiomers is a more accurate approach for testing. A chiral method can also be used to indicate the synthetic route that was used by the illegal source, which can be useful as part of a criminal investigation.
The sample prep and chiral LC-MS techniques described within this article provide a robust and easily transferrable method.