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Development of an innovative analytical method for forensic detection of cocaine, antidepressants, and metabolites in postmortem blood using magnetic nanoparticles

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Abstract

Cocaine and antidepressants rank high globally in substance consumption, emphasizing their impact on public health. The determination of these compounds and related substances in biological samples is crucial for forensic toxicology. This study focused on developing an innovative analytical method for the determination of cocaine, antidepressants, and their related metabolites in postmortem blood samples, using unmodified commercial Fe3O4 nanoparticles as a sorbent for dispersive magnetic solid-phase extraction (m-d-SPE), coupled with liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) analysis. An aliquot of 100 µL of whole blood and 5 µL of the internal standard pool were added to 30 mg of nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were separated from the sample using a neodymium magnet inserted into a 3D-printed microtube rack. The liquid was then discarded, followed by desorption with 300 µL of 1/1/1 acetonitrile/methanol/ethyl acetate. The sample was vortexed and separated, and 1.5 µL of the organic supernatant was injected into the LC–MS/MS. The method was acceptably validated and successfully applied to 263 postmortem blood samples. All samples evaluated in this study were positive for at least one substance. The most frequent analyte was benzoylecgonine, followed by cocaine and cocaethylene. The most common antidepressants encountered in the analyzed samples were citalopram and fluoxetine, followed by fluoxetine’s metabolite norfluoxetine. This study describes the first report of this sorbent in postmortem blood analysis, demonstrating satisfactory results for linearity, precision, accuracy, and selectivity for all compounds. The method’s applicability was confirmed, establishing it as an efficient and sustainable alternative to traditional techniques for forensic casework.

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Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from the Coordination of Improvement of Personal Higher Education, Brazil [CAPES – Finance Code 001] and Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil

    Patricia de Souza Schwarz, Bruno Pereira dos Santos, Letícia Birk, Sarah Eller & Tiago Franco de Oliveira

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  1. Patricia de Souza Schwarz
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  2. Bruno Pereira dos Santos
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  3. Letícia Birk
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  4. Sarah Eller
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Patricia de Souza Schwarz, Bruno Pereira dos Santos, Letícia Birk, Sarah Eller, Tiago Franco de Oliveira. Methodology: Patricia de Souza Schwarz, Bruno Pereira dos Santos, Letícia Birk, Sarah Eller. Formal analysis and investigation: Patricia de Souza Schwarz, Bruno Pereira dos Santos, Letícia Birk. Writing—original draft preparation: Patricia de Souza Schwarz, Bruno Pereira dos Santos, Letícia Birk. Writing—review and editing: Sarah Eller, Tiago Franco de Oliveira. Funding acquisition: Tiago Franco de Oliveira. Resources: Tiago Franco de Oliveira. Supervision: Tiago Franco de Oliveira.

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Correspondence to Patricia de Souza Schwarz.

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Ethics approval

This study was approved by the Ethical Committee for Human Studies of the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, Brazil (CAAE 17996819.7.0000.5345).

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The biological material was donated by the General Institute of Expertise of Rio Grande do Sul (IGP-RS).

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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de Souza Schwarz, P., dos Santos, B.P., Birk, L. et al. Development of an innovative analytical method for forensic detection of cocaine, antidepressants, and metabolites in postmortem blood using magnetic nanoparticles. Anal Bioanal Chem 416, 3239–3250 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-024-05273-1

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