Comprehensive Analysis of Drugs of Abuse in Blood and Urine with Automated Disposable Pipette Extraction and HPLC/MS/MS

The analysis of opiates in blood and urine was accomplished using automated Disposable Pipette Extraction (DPX) followed by LC/MS analysis. The automated extractions were performed in about 5 minutes using a GERSTEL MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS). The eluents were subsequently dried and reconstituted in solvent and injected into a HPLC/MS/MS instrument. Recoveries ranged from 60 to…

Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction (SBSE) and GC/MS Determination of Polar and Non-polar Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in Post Mortem Brain Tissue

Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction (SBSE) is an innovative and efficient method [1] for the extraction of drugs and pharmaceuticals from blood-, urine- and tissue samples in a forensic toxicology laboratory. As shown in this application note and earlier publications [2,3,4], SBSE is an effective screening tool for drugs and pharmaceuticals in biological fluids and tissue.…

Rapid Cleanup and Comprehensive Screening of Pain Management Drugs in Urine using Automated Disposable Pipette Extraction and LC-MS/MS

This study focuses on the automated extraction of small volumes of urine samples (< 500 μL) using disposable pipette extraction (DPX) for the comprehensive screening for pain management drugs by LC-MS/MS. Using a GERSTEL MPS autosampler, DPX extractions of hydrolyzed urine were performed, using a reversed phase (DPX-RP-S) sorbent. The resulting eluents from the DPX…

Rapid Automated Extraction and Confi rmation of Buprenorphine and Norbuprenorphine in Urine by DPX-LC/MS/MS

This study focuses on the rapid cleanup of urine samples (< 500 μL) using disposable pipette extraction (DPX) for high throughput LC/MS/MS screening of buprenorphine (Bup) and main active metabolite norbuprenorphine (Nbup). Using a GERSTEL MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS), DPX extractions of hydrolyzed urine were performed, and analysis results were directly compared to results obtained using…

Fully Automated Analysis of Doping Substances in Equine Urine by Disposable Pipette Extraction (DPX) coupled to GC/QqQ-MS

This application note describes a fully automated analysis method for selected equine doping compounds in equine urine. A GERSTEL MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS) with Disposable Pipette Extraction (DPX) option is employed for extraction and cleanup. After gas chromatographic separation the analytes are detected by a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer (QqQ-MS). The method is rugged, provides an adequate…

Determination of Barbiturates and 11-Nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-THC in Urine using Automated Disposable Pipette Extraction (DPX) and LC/MS/MS

This work demonstrates the use of disposable pipette extraction (DPX) as a fast and automated sample preparation technique for the determination of barbiturates and 11-nor-9-carboxy- 9-THC (COOH-THC) in urine. Using a GERSTEL MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS) with DPX option coupled to an Agilent 6460 LC-MS/MS instrument, 8 barbiturates and COOH-THC were extracted and their concentrations determined.…

A High Throughput Automated Sample Preparation and Analysis Workflow for Comprehensive Toxicology Urine Screenings using LC/MS/MS

This application demonstrates the use of Disposable Pipette Extraction (DPX) for rapid, automated sample preparation of urine samples for comprehensive LC/MS/MS screening. The combination of automated sample cleanup and introduction with mass spectrometric detection using a Scheduled MRM™ (AB SCIEX) algorithm and fast MS/MS spectral acquisition allowed high confi dence compound identifi cation based on…

Comprehensive Automation of the SPE-GC/MS Analysis of Opioids, Cocaine and Metabolites from Serum and Other Matrices

Analyzing blood serum for opioids, cocaine and metabolites is a routine task in forensic laboratories. The most commonly used methods involve several manual or partly-automated sample preparation steps such as protein precipitation, solid phase extraction, evaporation and derivatization followed by GC/MS or LC/MS determination. In this study a comprehensively automated method is compared with a…

Automated Hydrolysis, DPX Extraction and LC/MS/MS Analysis of Pain Management Drugs from Urine

A major mechanism of the metabolism of many pain management drugs involves conjugation of the analyte with glucuronic acid. To ensure accurate results when drugs are determined from urine matrices the analytes must be deconjugated which is typically performed by hydrolysis using enzymes such as beta-glucuronidase. Typical hydrolysis procedures involve long incubation periods at specified…

Fully Automated SPE-GC/MS Determination of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its Metabolites in Serum Samples

This note presents a fully automated analysis system for the determination of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its metabolites in blood serum. Automation is based on the GERSTEL MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS) equipped for solid phase extraction (GERSTEL SPE) and a module for automated eluate evaporation (GERSTEL MultiPosition Evaporation Station, mVAP). A validated, semi-automated analysis method used for…

“Prep-and-Shoot”: The Completely Automated Workflow for the Hydrolysis and Analysis of Urine Samples by LC/MS/MS.

In this report, a completely automated, 96 well plate format “Prep-and-Shoot” workfl ow including enzymatic hydrolysis, dilution and injection is described. A GERSTEL MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS) coupled to an AB SCIEX QTRAP® 4500 LC/MS/MS system was used for a fast enzymatic hydrolysis process (15 minutes), dilution and injection of urine samples. The procedure was applied…

Automating Liquid-Liquid Extractions using a Bench-top Workstation

Liquid-liquid extractions have long been performed manually and are used to extract and concentrate analytes from aqueous matrices. Inclusion of liquid-liquid extraction in many official methods attests to the wide acceptance of the technique. Following solvent extraction it is also common to include an evaporation and reconstitution step to improve detection limits or exchange solvents…

Automated Hydrolysis, Extraction and Determination of Opioids in Urine using a Novel Robotic Autosampler and LC-MS/MS Platform

The Opioid Epidemic continues to increase throughout the United States. According to the CDC, 66 % of all drug overdose deaths in 2016 involved an opioid [1]. This calculates to roughly 116 deaths every day from opioid related overdoses. After becoming addicted to prescription opioids, users may unfortunately turn to illicit alternatives such as heroin.…