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Identification and imaging of indole-3-carboxamide cannabinoids in hair using matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

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Abstract

Purpose

Different kinds of new synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) have been continuously developed to evade drug monitoring. Segmental hair analysis offers a longer period for retrospective drug detection compared with blood or urine. In this study, matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometric imaging (MALDI-FT ICR MSI) was developed for direct identification and imaging of synthetic indole-3-carboxamide cannabinoids in hair samples using the positive ion mode.

Methods

The target SCs include N-(adamantan-1-yl)-1-pentyl-1H-indole-3-carboxamide (APICA), N-(1-amino-3-methyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl)-1-(5-fluoropentyl)-1H-indole-3-carboxamide (5F-AB-PICA), N-(1-amino-3,3-dimethyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl)-1-pentyl-1H-indazole-3-carboxamide (ADB-PINACA) and N-(1-amino -3,3-dimethyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl)-1-(5-fluoropentyl)-1H-indole-3-carboxamide (5F-ADBICA). The MALDI-MS and MS/MS were first performed on the scraped hair soaked in a mixture of the four SCs after matrix sublimation. This method may provide a detection power for SCs to the 0.1 ng level per 2 cm hair. Target cannabinoids were identified by MS1 and MS2. Matrix deposition methods including airbrush sprayer and sublimation were compared.

Results

The method was then applied in revealing the spatial distribution of APICA and 5F-ADBICA in real hair samples from two drug abusers by comparing MS1 and MS2 spectra. The metabolites of APICA and 5F-ADBICA were also presumed to be present in the positive hair samples. Furthermore, a comprehensive comparison between a MALDI-FT ICR MS and a MALDI time-of-flight–MS instrument was performed in detection-sensitivity and specificity for positive real samples.

Conclusions

The proposed method provides a powerful tool for drug supervision and forensic medicine analysis in a wide time window, and the sample amount required was also decreased.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Fund from Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine (Grant no. KF1807) and Interdisciplinary Program of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (YG2017QN65).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai, 200063, People’s Republic of China

    Houwei Lin & Hang Wang

  2. Department of Pediatric Surgery, Jiaxing Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, No. 2468, Zhonghuan East Road, Nanhu District, Zhejiang Jiaxing, 314051, People’s Republic of China

    Houwei Lin

  3. Instrumental Analysis Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dongchuan Road 800, Shanghai, 200240, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoyan Zeng & Hang Wang

  4. Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Chongming Branch, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Qian Wang, Yinnan Li & Bin Sun

  5. Narcotics Control Commission, Nanjing Municipal Public Security Bureau, Nanjing, 210012, People’s Republic of China

    Ying Wang

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  1. Houwei Lin
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Correspondence to Hang Wang.

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All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants involved in invasive experiments, or animals performed by any of the authors, although some volunteers provided hair samples. The study was conducted under the guidelines for the protection of human subjects and the subject agreed to participate in the study through informed consent.

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Lin, H., Zeng, X., Wang, Q. et al. Identification and imaging of indole-3-carboxamide cannabinoids in hair using matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. Forensic Toxicol 38, 216–226 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11419-019-00510-0

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