The age of novel psychoactive substances
The emergence of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) on the recreational drug market continues to pose a significant challenge for law enforcement and drug tracking agencies. NPS are a diverse group of synthetic substances designed to mimic the effects of conventionally controlled substances and are often used as adulterants in heroin and counterfeit preparations. NPS vary greatly in potency and purity, often requiring only a small amount to cause acute intoxications. Their increased occurrence in drug cases has resulted in a drastic rise in intoxications and accidental fatalities, posing serious public health risks and legal challenges. As more of these NPS emerge on the illegal drug market, timely screening approaches for accurately detecting and identifying these substances are needed.
LC-MS/MS has become the preferred method for NPS analysis over traditional techniques as it provides the sensitivity, speed and confidence required to reliably identify and quantify NPS and other novel synthetic drugs of abuse present in a variety of complex matrices. Whether you are performing unknown screening to identify novel NPS or quantifying these substances and their metabolites as part of an NPS panel, LC-MS/MS enables both the level of identification confidence and quantification performance with far greater sensitivity and specificity than previously used techniques. Learn about the latest advances in LC-MS/MS instruments, workflows and integrated software solutions from SCIEX for reliable NPS screening, identification, and quantification. The information here will provide you with innovative solutions and comprehensive resources to guide your laboratory toward success with NPS analysis.Â
Accurate mass solutions for ultimate confidence in NPS characterization
Leverage the power of accurate mass spectrometry as a unique tool to screen and identify new emerging substances with our developed NPS analysis workflows. Gain greater confidence by reliably obtaining comprehensive MS/MS spectral fragment information from biological samples that can be used for identification, confirmation and library matching through our accurate mass platforms. The acquisition of accurate mass data and analyte-specific MS/MS fragment spectra is essentially creating a digital record of the sample. The improvements in selectivity and sensitivity increase confidence in NPS identification and enable retrospective data re-interrogation should new questions or compounds arise in the future.Â
Confident identification of potent novel synthetic opioids and their metabolites
The ZenoTOF 7600 system enables accurate and confident detection of potent substances in poly-drug, authentic case samples at trace levels that were not previously achievable.
Enhancing NPS characterization
Electron-activated dissociation fragmentation was used to confirm the detection of multiple classes of structurally similar and isobaric novel psychoactive substances, including newly emerging fentanyl opioids, halogenated fentanyl analogs, novel synthetic opioids and synthetic cannabinoids.
Determination of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and synthetic opioids in meconium
This technical note describes a robust and quantitative screening workflows for confident identification and accurate quantification of NPS present in 30 meconium specimens from cases in which fentanyl had been administered as epidural anesthesia at the time of delivery or cases in which the maternal hair was positive to other drug of abuse.
Intelligently designed SWATH DIA for NPS detection in whole blood
In this study, the analytical performance of a data independent acquisition method using mass spectrometry for the screening and quantitation of a panel of 54 NPS including synthetic cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids, benzodiazepines, and fentanyl analogs was evaluated using the SCIEX X500R QTOF system.
Streamlined unknown screening for postmortem analysis
A comprehensive drug screening workflow for the analysis of postmortem blood samples has been successfully developed using SWATH DIA on the SCIEX X500R QTOF system. A rapid 8.5 min method provides good separation of the 155 targeted forensic compounds.
Detection of fentanyl analogs and novel synthetic opioids in hair
A comprehensive workflow is presented that combines the use of the SCIEX X500R QTOF system with a simple extraction procedure for specific and sensitive detection of fentanyl analogs and synthetic opioids in hair.
Fentanyl analogs analysis and their potential metabolites
This technical note describes a high-throughput method that enabled the simultaneous quantitation and both targeted and non-targeted screening of fentanyl and its analogs in a single injection of urine samples. Using the X500B QTOF system, SWATH DIA collected MS/MS data for spectral matching against the SCIEX NIST 2017 MS/MS library and metabolite identification using the Molecule Profiler module of SCIEX OS software.
ZenoTOF 7600 system
The ZenoTOF 7600 system provides unique features enhancing MS/MS capabilities, combining the power of the Zeno trap for improved MS/MS sensitivity and EAD as an alternative fragmentation technology providing unique fragments for drug and metabolite characterization.
X500R QTOF system
The X500R QTOF system is the most versatile and easy-to-use accurate mass instrument for routine drug screening. The system can be for high-specificity, targeted quantitation, and non-targeted screening from single sample sets in a high-throughput laboratory environment.
SCIEX OS software
SCIEX OS software is the all-in-one software solution for forensic toxicology screening that lets you acquire, process, analyze data and even generate reports in the same software environment. It enables streamlined data processing of challenging forensic data sets with integrated tools to increase confidence in your results.
High-resolution MS/MS spectral library 2.1
Confirm identification of commonly tested drugs and metabolites using the forensics high-resolution MS/MS spectral library. With over 1740 forensic drugs and metabolites commonly tested in forensic samples, this high-resolution library enables fast processing of targeted and non-targeted screening data for accurate compound identification from complex biological samples.
Nominal mass solutions for sensitive NPS quantitationÂ
Accurate and sensitive quantification of NPS in complex biological matrices is key to detecting trace level of potent substances linked to increasing intoxications, adverse events, and death. Our targeted workflows showcase the quantitation performance of our nominal mass platforms for NPS analysis. The sensitivity of our systems enables toxicologists to develop a better picture of the potency of these substances. This information is critical in supporting the necessary evidence in cases where the combined intake of high-potency drugs at low concentration is responsible for or contributes to an unintentional drug overdose.Â
Detection of fentanyl analogs and highly potent novel synthetic opioids in blood
The SCIEX 7500 system is presented as a robust quantitative platform with exceptional performance in speed and sensitivity for the accurate quantitation of a panel of 32 novel synthetic opioids (NSO), including fentanyl analog isomers in human whole blood. The optimized method maximizes the quantitative performance of the system while retaining the required levels of accuracy, precision and quantitative performance. The addition of new hardware features of the OptiFlow Pro ion source, the D Jet ion guide and the E Lens Technology enhance ion sampling and desolvation, resulting in unparalleled sensitivity and quantitation limit improvements for the 32 NSO targeted in this study.
Multi-panel detection of drugs and drug metabolites in hair samples
A comprehensive workflow for the detection of drugs and drug metabolites in hair was successfully developed. Easy sample extraction procedure combined with the SCIEX QTRAP 6500+ system was shown to enable the sensitive quantitation of a wide range of chemically-diverse analytes in three panels: (1) Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS), (2) Drugs Of Abuse (DOA) and (3) EtG, a direct alcohol metabolite used as an indicator of alcohol consumption.
Quantitative analysis of fentanyl and analogues in human whole blood
The QTRAP 4500 system combined with the ExionLC AC system enabled the LC separation of 29 fentanyl analogs and metabolites, allowing quantitation at low concentrations in complex matrices such as human whole blood. The Scheduled MRM algorithm in Analyst software 1.7 and the speed of the QTRAP 4500 system produced ample acquisition points for quality data, enabling an averaged ~4 orders of linear dynamic range across the compounds monitored in this study.
Analysis of Kratom’s main psychoactive components
In order to effectively identify the two key components of Kratom (mitragynine and its metabolite, 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-HMG)) in urine specimens, forensic laboratories require sensitive and robust MS systems along with dependable chromatography. A quantitative MRM method for LC-MS/MS analysis of kratom compounds was established on the ExionLC AC, Triple Quad 4500 and QTRAP 4500 systems. The dilute-and-shoot sample preparation procedure provided excellent sensitivity and linearity for the identification of these analytes in a human urine specimen.
QTRAP systems: quantitative drug testing solution with a qualitative advantage
SCIEX QTRAP instruments are based on and can be operated as a triple quadrupole mass analyzer but provide additional qualitative scan functions that improve selectivity and specificity beyond triple quad technology. These unique linear ion trap (LIT) scan functions enable high-quality MRM quantitation with simultaneous identification and confirmation by acquiring an enhanced product ion (EPI) MS/MS confirmation scan in a single injection. The full scan MS/MS spectrum obtained can be subsequently matched using an MS/MS spectral library to improve identification confidence. These unique functionalities of the mass analyzer configuration significantly enhance drug confirmation results by minimizing the rate of false negatives and false positives. Additional QTRAP scanning functions such as MS3 (MS/MS/MS) and MRM3 can also be leveraged to significantly reduce matrix and background interferences while providing increased selectivity and sensitivity for challenging workflows. Get the ultimate confidence when reporting your drug confirmation results without compromising the quality of your quantitative data.
Homeland security
Detecting trace levels of seized drugs, chemical warfare agents, explosives or illicit materials requires high throughput and sensitive instrumentation. SCIEX has an extensive portfolio of LC-MS/MS instrumentation that provides the evidence required by the forensic and security communities.
Cannabis and hemp potency testing
The diversity of cannabis and hemp products makes it hard to perform potency testing accurately. SCIEX provides sensitive, accurate and precise instrumentation capable of differentiating legalized hemp products from controlled cannabis. Forensic labs, where such use is permitted under local state/country law, can now test with the highest confidence.
Doping control
Unveil the truth hidden in doping samples by leveraging SCIEX solutions to confidently detect, identify and quantify trace levels of prohibited substances in biological specimens. Our robust suite of instruments provides the sensitivity, specificity and selectivity required to deliver confident results and keep competition fair.