Detecting buprenorphine in umbilical cord: improved assay
The United States Drug Testing Laboratory has announced the development of an improved screening assay to indicate buprenorphine exposure in utero.
Illicit use of buprenorphine, an opioid partial agonist used in the treatment of opioid addiction, has prompted the development of bioanalytical assays for this compound. Since this substance can be harmful to an unborn child during pregnancy, it is important to be able to test for buprenorphine in utero.
An assay developed by the United States Drug Testing Laboratory (USDTL; IL, USA) tests for the drug in the umbilical cord, offering a reduced positive cut-off.
By binding to the same receptors as opioids, buprenorphine eliminates the intense symptoms experienced during opioid withdrawal. Physicians prescribe the therapeutic to help opioid drug addicts give up; however, buprenorphine is also used illicitly.
Recent statistics from the US ‘National Survey on Drug Use and Health’ found that 5.9% of pregnant women admitted to use of an illicit substance during pregnancy. When used during pregnancy, buprenorphine can cause a multitude of complications – including respiratory distress, low birth weight and neonatal abstinence syndrome – where often morphine administration to the new-born is necessary to treat withdrawal symptoms.
The USDTL is a specialty drug testing facility, funded mainly by agencies within the US National Institutes of Health. Their new assay reduces positive cut-off by half – from 1.0 to 0.5 ng/g. This assay will allow detection of illicit substance use during pregnancy, allowing any necessary action to be taken by healthcare practitioners and the child protective services after the birth.
Sources: Improved screening assay for buprenorphine in umbilical cord; Substance abuse and mental health services administration (2013). Results from the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings, NSDUH Series H-46, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 13-4795. Rockville, MD, USA.
