Hair analysis opiates

Hair analysis by chromatographic procedures was reviewed in 1992 by Moeller. Analytical methods for the detection of drugs in hair were reviewed for amphet-amines, °7 cannabinoids, cocaine, ° and opiates. "... 

Baselt, R. C., Inappropriate Use of Immunoassays as a Quantitative Tool, /. Anal. Toxicol, 13,1,1989. Staub, C., Hair Analysis Its Importance for the Diagnosis of Poisoning Associated with Opiate Addiction, Forensic Sci. Int., 63, 69, 1993. 

Kintz, R, Mangin, R, Determination of Gestational Opiate, Nicotine, Benzodiazepine, Cocaine and Amphetamine Exposure by Hair Analysis, /. Forensic Sci. Soc., 33,139,1993. 

Supercritical phase extraction is the chosen method for extracting drugs, including opiates, cocaine, and methadone from a solid matrix such as hair. In its present state, supercritical phase extraction can be used with these three groups of drugs. In the near future, however, it is probable that this method will be applicable to other drugs and even to other medical substances. At that time, SFE will probably become the reference method for hair analysis. 

We have demonstrated in particular that SFE is an appropriate method for analysing opiates in hair. It is rapid (30 min), efficient, and reproducible. The procedure applied to standard hair, or to hair coming from drug abusers, has given excellent results. In addition, the quantification limits are comparable to those generally observed in hair analysis. 

Another unique property of hair is the efficient trapping of the short-lived heroin metabolite 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM). " In contrast to hair, this metabolite is rarely found in opiate-positive urines, thereby causing 90% of such urine results to be overturned by medical review officers. The special procedures required for hair analysis to help resolve the opiate-positive problems of urinalysis will be described. 

The validity of these theoretically determined cutoff levels was evaluated by the various field studies described below. In some of these this involved comparing the results of hair analysis to those of urinalysis and self-reports. In the case of cocaine and morphine the validation of endogenous cutoff levels involved also the controlled administration of these substances. - With morphine this was done with poppy seed and involved a comparison of hair and urine results. These experiments clearly demonstrated the greater effectiveness of the endogenous cutoff levels used by hair analysis, for all attempts to exceed the opiate cutoff level of hair analysis by the massive ingestion of poppy seeds failed. In contrast to this, the cutoff level of urinalysis was exceeded by wide margins. That this particular problem of urinalysis is not unique to poppy seeds has been demonstrated experimentally by Baselt and Change in the case of cocaine. 

These considerations show clearly that endogenous interpretive false positives are the main problem confronting urinalysis. It is, however, a problem with which hair analysis can provide considerable assistance, since passive exposure as a cause for a positive urinalysis result can be excluded by a positive hair analysis result. As indicated previously, this support is particularly critical in the case of opiates, where considerations of public safety demand that the numerous overturned urinalysis results be further investigated. 

In 1988, Magura et al. initiated a second study for the validation of hair analysis in the criminal justice system. Attempts were made to improve the conditions under which this comparison was performed. The most important difference consisted in operationally removing the study from the adverse consequences of the criminal justice system, i.e., the participants clearly understood that the results of urinalysis, self-reports, and hair analysis could have no adverse consequences. The sensitivities of the urine tests were also improved opiate and cocaine results were compared at urinalysis cutoffs of 300 ng/mL and 1000 ng/mL, respectively. 

Piischel, K., Thomasch, R, and Arnold, W., Opiate levels in hair. Forensic Sci. Int., 21, 181, 1983. Miyazawa, N., Uematsu, T., Mizuno, A., Nagashima, S., and Nakashima, M., Ofloxacin in human hair determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Forensic Sci. Int., 51, 65, 1991. Uematsu, T., Therapeutic drug monitoring in hair samples, Clin. Pharmacokinet., 25, 83, 1993. Tracqui, A., Kintz, R, and Mangin, R, Hair analysis a worthless tool for therapeutic compliance monitoring. Forensic Sci. Int., 70,183,1995. 

Moller, M.R., Fey, P., and Wennig, R. (1993) Simultaneous determination of drugs of abuse (opiates, cocaine and amphetamine) in human hair by GC-MS and its application to the methadon treatment program, in Special Issue Hair Analysis as a Diagnostic Tool for Drugs of Abuse Investigation, Forensic Science International, vol. 63 (ed P. Saukko), Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 185-206. 

Klys M, Rojek S, Kulikowska J, Bozek E, Scislowski M (2007) Usefulness of multi-parameter opiates-amphetamines-cocainics analysis in hair of drug users for the evaluation of an abuse profile by means of LC-APCI-MS-MS. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 854(1—2) 299—307. doi S 1570-0232(07)00337-6 [pii] 10.1016/j.jchromb.2007.04.040... 

Kintz, P, Mangin, P, Analysis of Opiates in Human Hair with FPIA, EMIT, and GC/MS, Adli Tip Derg., 7, 129,1991. 

Amphetamine and cannabinoids can also be detected in routine analyses together with cocaine and opiates. As the frequency of positive findings is relatively low compared to the frequency of positive urine results, it may be assumed that amphetamine and cannabinoids will only be detected after regular consumption. Positive findings of THC can be confirmed by the detection of THC-COOH and OH-THC to exclude the possibility that the hair had only been contaminated by smoke. MDMA, MDE, and MDA can be detected in hair, but there is little experience with quantitative results. In routine analysis on illegal drugs, all listed substances in Figure 8 should be taken into consideration. 

Klys M, Rojek S, KuUkowska J, Bozek E (2007) Usefulness of multiple opiate and amphetamine analysis of hair segments under methadone therapy using LC-AP Cl-MS-MS. Forensic Toxicol 25(2) 69-75... 

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