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Detection of “Bath Salt” Synthetic Cathinones and Metabolites in Urine via DART-MS and Solid Phase Microextraction

  • Research Article
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Journal of The American Society for Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A rapid and sensitive method, direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) was applied to the characterization and semiquantitative analysis of synthetic cathinones and their metabolites in urine. DART-MS was capable of detecting three different cathinones and three metabolites down to sub-clinical levels directly without any sample preparations. The process produced a spectrum within seconds because no extraction or derivatization was required for analysis and the high mass accuracy of the instrumentation allowed analysis without the need for lengthy chromatographic separations. The use of solid phase microextration demonstrated a relative increase in the detectability of both drugs and metabolites, improving the detection signal on average more than an order of magnitude over direct detection, while providing cleaner spectra devoid of the major peaks associated with urine that oftentimes dominate such samples.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding of this work in part by DHS under BAA 13-007 Chemical Attribute Signature Studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IonSense, Inc., Saugus, MA, 01906, USA

    Joseph LaPointe & Brian Musselman

  2. Department of Chemistry, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY, 12222, USA

    Teresa O’Neill & Jason R. E. Shepard

Authors
  1. Joseph LaPointe
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  2. Brian Musselman
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  3. Teresa O’Neill
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  4. Jason R. E. Shepard
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Correspondence to Jason R. E. Shepard.

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LaPointe, J., Musselman, B., O’Neill, T. et al. Detection of “Bath Salt” Synthetic Cathinones and Metabolites in Urine via DART-MS and Solid Phase Microextraction. J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 26, 159–165 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13361-014-1006-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13361-014-1006-9

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