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Determination of methadone and EDDP in oral fluid using the dried saliva spots sampling approach and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

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Abstract

The present work describes the development and validation of a novel approach to determine methadone (MTD) and its main metabolite (EDDP) in oral fluid samples, using the dried saliva spots (DSS) sampling approach and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Oral fluid samples (50 μL) were applied into Whatman™ 903 protein saver filter paper cards and were allowed to dry overnight. The extraction was carried out by immersion of the spot in 1 mL of isopropyl alcohol with agitation for 1 min. Afterwards, the extract was centrifuged for 15 min at 3500 rpm and the supernatant evaporated to dryness and reconstituted with 50 μL of methanol. The procedure was considered linear in the range of 10 to 250 ng/mL for both compounds, with determination coefficients greater than 0.99. Intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy revealed coefficients of variation (CVs) lower than 15% at the studied concentrations, with mean relative errors within ± 15% of the nominal concentrations. Recoveries ranged from 45 to 74%. The limits of detection and quantification were 5 and 10 ng/mL respectively for both analytes. All studied parameters complied with the defined criteria and the method enabled the successful determination of MTD and EDDP in oral fluid samples from patients undergoing opiate substitution/maintenance therapy.

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Funding

This work is supported by FEDER funds through the POCI-COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalisation in Axis I – Strengthening Research, Technological Development and Innovation (Project POCI-01- 0145-FEDER-007491) and National Funds by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology (Project UID/Multi /00709/2013).

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Author notes

  1. Andreia Ribeiro, Margarida Prata, Cristiana Vaz and Tiago Rosado contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigação em Ciências da Saúde, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde da Universidade da Beira Interior (CICS-UBI), Avenida Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506, Covilhã, Portugal

    Andreia Ribeiro, Margarida Prata, Tiago Rosado, José Restolho & Eugenia Gallardo

  2. Escola Superior de Saúde, Instituto Politécnico da Guarda (IPG), Avenida Rainha D. Amélia, S/N, 6300-749, Guarda, Portugal

    Cristiana Vaz & André R. T. S. Araújo

  3. Laboratório de Fármaco-Toxicologia-UBIMedical, Universidade da Beira Interior, Convento de Sto. António, 6201-001, Covilhã, Portugal

    Tiago Rosado & Eugenia Gallardo

  4. Nal von Minden, GmbH, Friedenstr 32, 93053, Regensburg, Germany

    José Restolho

  5. Serviço de Química e Toxicologia Forenses, Instituto de Medicina Legal e Ciências Forenses - Delegação do Sul, Rua Manuel Bento de Sousa 3, 1169-201, Lisbon, Portugal

    Mário Barroso

  6. Unidade de Investigação para o Desenvolvimento do Interior do IPG (UDI/IPG), Av. Dr. Francisco de Sá Carneiro 50, 6300-559, Guarda, Portugal

    André R. T. S. Araújo

  7. LAQV, Requimte, Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Laboratório de Química Aplicada, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, 4051-401, Porto, Portugal

    André R. T. S. Araújo

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  1. Andreia Ribeiro
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  2. Margarida Prata
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mário Barroso.

Ethics declarations

The present study was approved by the ethics committee from Casas de Santiago and has been conducted according to ethical standards. The analyzed samples belonged to individuals who gave an informed consent for their use (including the drug-free samples used in the validation experiments, provided by laboratory staff), and all analyses were carried out according to the ethical standards of the institution.

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Ribeiro, A., Prata, M., Vaz, C. et al. Determination of methadone and EDDP in oral fluid using the dried saliva spots sampling approach and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Anal Bioanal Chem 411, 2177–2187 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-019-01654-z

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