Morphine detection

A positive urine test result for opioids does not necessarily mean that the individual used drugs illegally. The GC/MS instrument is very sensitive, and any morphine detected could have come from the individual having eaten poppy seed-containing bagels or pastries shortly before the test. Also, many people are prescribed opioid-containing analgesics such as Tylenol with codeine, Percodan , and Percocet , and their urine samples will test positive. At the time of urine... 

Moreover, 0.5-pm diameter MIP beads have been prepared for chronoamperometric determination of morphine [204]. These beads were synthesized by thermo-radical precipitation polymerization of the MAA functional monomer, TRIM cross-linker, AIBN initiator and morphine template in the ACN solution. Then the beads were immobilized in a film of the PEDOT conducting polymer, electropolymerized onto the ITO electrode. The morphine detection with the use of the resulting chemosensor was much more sensitive to morphine (41.63 pA cm 2 mM for the morphine concentration range of 0.1-2 mM) than to morphine analogues. LOD for morphine was 0.3 mM. 

The most developed areas for imprinted polymers are for sequestration and separation. Several reported imprinted polymer sensors have in actuality been pretreatments by separation to allow a selective determination using a general detection method. The adaptation of this to an FIA system would be relatively simple. For example, Kriz et al. [31] report a sensor for morphine (see Chapter 18). The method of morphine detection involved two steps. The first step was to immobilise the morphine by loading it on the imprinted polymer. In the detection step, the morphine was released from the column by elution of an electro-inactive competitor (codeine) and the released morphine was detected by an amperometric method. The polymer was tested after exposure to extremes of heat and chemicals and proved resilient. This method would probably be suitable for automation as a flow injection technique. 

Opioids 2-3 days typically Up to 6 days with sustained-release formulations Up to 1 week with prolonged or heavy use Since the assay was made to detect morphine, detection of other opioids, such as codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and other semisynthetic opioids, may be limited. Some synthetic opioids, e.g., fentanyl and meperidine, may not be detected. Drugs such as rifampin and some fluoroquinolones may cause false-positive results depending on the assay. 

Goldenseal consumption has increased due to word-of-mouth circulation of the belief that root products may be used to mask urine tests for illicit drugs. This grows out of the fictional plot of Stringtown on the Pike (1900), a novel by pharmacist John Uri Lloyd (1849-1936). This use has persisted throughout the 20th century especially in attempts to mask morphine detection in racehorses. There is no scientific evidence to support this use. In fact, it may instead promote false-positive readings (TYLER 2). ... 

Scheme 2.5c) [24,25], an activity that has potential in opiate biosynthesis. This strain has a morphine dehydrogenase that concomitantly reduces morphine into mor-phinone and has thus found applications in morphine detection. Finally, OYEs that reduce Baylis-Hillman adducts with complementary enantioselectivities have been either identified or generated by protein engineering (Scheme 2.5d) [26]. 

The iaterpretation of forensic toxicology (18) results is often challenging. Courts frequently ask if an amount of dmg detected ia a specimen could cause a specific type of behavior, ie, would someone be under the influence of a dmg at a specific concentration, would a particular dmg concentration cause diminished capacity, or was the dmg the cause of death In a random employee dmg testing case, a worker screened positive for opiates by EMIT and gc/ms analysis of the urine specimen showed low levels of morphine. Although one possibiUty was that the iadividual was a heroia user, a review of foods eaten ia the prior 24 hours suggested a more innocent cause a poppy-seed bagel. 

Note The natural fluorescence colors of some flavonoids [7, 9] and anthracene derivatives [16] are altered by the ammonia treatment. This makes possible differentiation on the basis of color. Detection limits per chromatogram zone have been reported of 2 ng for morphine and heroin [2], 6 ng for ochratoxin A [5] and 1 pg for penicillic acid [13]. 

Note The reagent can be employed on silica gel and cellulose layers. When derivatization is carried out from the vapor phase the detection limit for morphine is 10 ng and that for papaverine 1 ng per chromatogram zone [5]. In some cases it has been recommended that ammonium sulfate be added to the layer with subsequent heating to 150 —180 °C [1] after derivatization. It is also possible to spray afterwards with an aqueous solution of potassium iodide (1 %) and starch (1%) [2]. 

Detection and result The chromatogram was dried in a stream of warm air for 5 min, immersed in the dipping solution for 6 s and heated to 110°C for 20 min. After drying in a stream of cold air morphine hRf 25 — 30), 6-monoacetylmorphine hR( 40-45) and heroin hRf 50-55) yielded reddish chromatogram zones and codeine hRf 30—35) yielded blue chromatogram zones on a pale pink background. 

Note The color development depends on the temperature and duration of heating [1]. The detection limit for sterols and morphine alkaloids is in the lower nanogram range [1,2]. 

Opioids are easily absorbed subcutaneously and intramuscularly, as well as from the gastrointestinal tract, nasal mucosa (e.g., when heroin is used as snuff), and lung (e.g., when opium is smoked). About 90% of the excretion of morphine occurs during the first 24 hours, but traces are detectable in urine for more than 48 hours. Heroin (diacetyhnorphine) is hydrolyzed to monoacetylmorphine, which is then hydrolyzed to morphine. Morphine and monoacetylmorphine are responsible for the pharmacologic effects of heroin. Heroin produces effects more rapidly than morphine because it is more lipid soluble and therefore crosses the blood-brain barrier faster. In the urine, heroin is detected as free morphine and morphine glucuronide (Gutstein and Akil 2001 Jaffe et al. 2004). 

For instance morphine (1) can be detected by the formation of various quinones via apomorphine as intermediate [4, 12, 13]. All morphines with an OH group in the 6-position and a double bond (codeine, ethylmorphine etc.) first undergo an acid-catalyzed rearrangement according to the following scheme [12] ... 

Note Tertiary amines and quaternary ammonium compounds yield stronger colors than primary amines [25]. The dipping solution can also be used as spray solution [44]. Other reagent compositions have also been reported in the literature (1, 3, 6, 12, 13, 15, 18, 21, 23, 41] In some cases the reagents have been made up in acetone [38, 39], methanol [14] or ethanol [37] and/or acidified with hydrochloric acid [3, 33, 37-40]. The concentrations of hexachloroplatinic(IV) acid have been in the range of 0.05 -0.4 those of potassium iodide between 0.5 and 24spray solution containing 2% potassium iodide and 0.23170 hexachloroplatinic(IV) acid hexahydrate in N-hydro-chloric acid is reported to yield the best coloration results with respect to detection sensitivity and color differentiation in the detection of morphine, codeine, quinine, methadone and cocaine [46]. Acidic reagent solutions have been recommended for benzodiazepines [10, 11]. Sulfones do not react [39]. 

In situ quantitation The absorption photometric evaluation in reflectance was carried out at the wavelength k = 540 nm (Fig. 3). The detection limits in substance per chromatogram zone were 20 ng for thebaine and papaverine, 200 ng for codeine, 300 ng for morphine and 500 ng for narceine. 

Morphine (hR 25 — 30), codeine (hR 30—35), 6-monoacetyhnorphine hRf 40— 45) and heroin hRf 50—55) yielded blue chromatogram zones on a pale blue background. The detection limits were 10 to 20 ng substance per chromatogram zone. 

Table 1 provides the urinalysis test results for the 4,847 arrestees, While PCP was tested for by an EMIT test only, cocaine, opiates and methadone were tested for by both EMIT and thin layer chromatography (TLC). (The EMIT test for opiates is not specific to morphine, the metabolite of heroin, and can detect the recent use of a variety of opiates. A specimen positive for opiates is most likely to indicate the use of heroin in this population, however.) Our analyses will use only the results from the EMIT tests, because we have learned that the TLC general drug screen is less sensitive for detecting recent use of these illicit street drugs (Wish et al. 1983 Wish et al. 1984). 

Heroin is often detected by the presence of acetic acid vapors since acetic acid is a normal decomposition product of heroin.t2l In addition, heroin produced in illegal drug laboratories by treating morphine (see Fig. 13.6.2) with acetic anhy-... 

A major side-effect of morphine is respiratory depression. Opiates are believed to cause this effect via actions in brainstem nuclei, fi receptor immunoreactivity and mRNA were detected in neurons of the nucleus of the solitary tract, nucleus ambiguous, and parabrachial nucleus. mRNA was detected in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis which projects to the nucleus of the solitary tract, fi receptor immunoreactivity is found in the nucleus of the solitary tract and dorsal rhizotomy reduced receptor immunoreactivity in the nucleus suggesting a presynaptic localization of the receptor. 

Central loci believed to be involved in morphine dependence are the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens. ft receptor mRNA and immunoreactivity were also detected in these regions as well as the hippocampus and amygdala, other regions that may be involved in the euphoric effects of fi agonists. 

A particular interest for clinical applications was a possibility for detection of dopamine by its oxidation on nickel [19], cobalt [65], and osmium [66] hexacyanofer-ates. Except for oxidation of dopamine, cobalt and osmium hexacyanoferrates were active in oxidation of epinephrine and norepinephrine. For clinical analysis it is also important to carry out the detection of morphine on cobalt [67] and ferric [68] hexacyanoferrates, as well as the detection of oxidizable amino acids (cystein, methionine) by manganous [69] and ruthenium [70] hexacyanoferrate-modified electrodes. In general, oxidation of thiols was first shown for Prussian blue [71] and nickel hexacyanoferrate [72], This approach has been used for the detection of thiols in rat striatum microdialysate [73], Alternatively, the detection of thiocholine with Prussian blue was employed for pesticide determination in acetylcholine-esterase test [74],... 

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