High-sensitivity detection of forensic drug panel in human whole blood  

Using the SCIEX Triple Quad™ 7500 LC-MS/MS – QTRAP® Ready System, powered by SCIEX OS Software

Pierre Negri1 and Ian Moore2
1SCIEX, USA; 2SCIEX, CA

Abstract

The SCIEX Triple Quad 7500 System is a robust quantitative platform with exceptional performance in speed, linear dynamic range and sensitivity for the accurate quantification of a panel of 49 drugs in human whole blood. The optimized method is shown to maximize sensitivity while retaining the required levels of accuracy and performance.

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Introduction

Achieving low levels of detection while maintaining reliable quantification is a key performance indicator to any robust bioanalytical workflow. In the forensic laboratory, the ability to accurately quantify large panels of analytes in complex biological matrices over a wide range of concentration is challenging and often requires dilution of the samples to bring them within the calibration range of the instrument. In order to further reduce sample preparation and re-analysis time, sufficient data sampling across the chromatographic peaks and over a wide linear dynamic range is required to ensure comprehensive analyte coverage and rugged quantitative performance.

In this technical note, the SCIEX Triple Quad 7500 System is presented as a robust quantitative platform with exceptional performance in speed, linear dynamic range and sensitivity for the accurate quantification of a panel of 49 drugs in human whole blood. The optimized method maximizes the linear dynamic range capabilities of the assay while retaining the required levels of accuracy and 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,1 resulting in unparalleled sensitivity and quantification limit improvements for the suite of drugs targeted in this study. 

Figure 1. High linearity and linear dynamic range (LDR) demonstrated for chemically diverse panel of drugs. Calibration curves resulting from the calibration series of alprazolam (0.01-100 ng/mL) and codeine (0.01-50 ng/mL) showing excellent linear response  even at pg/mL concentrations. 

Key advantages of the SCIEX Triple Quad 7500 System for forensic drug panel analysis

  • The SCIEX Triple Quad 7500 System is a robust instrument withunparalleled sensitivity and quantitative performance
  • SCIEX OS Software provides an easy to use and intuitive platform for both for data acquisition and processing
  • Fast (6.5 minutes) chromatographic run time achievable with the Scheduled MRMâ„¢ Algorithm Pro in SCIEX OS Software and fast polarity switching during data acquisition ·    Robust and easy to use OptiFlow Pro Ion Source provides efficient sample ionization with intelligent source design eliminating the need for physical optimization
  • Improved desolvation and ion sampling of system enhanced sensitivity, with LLOQ in the sub ng/mL to pg/mL range, demonstrated in complex biological matrices for the panel of drugs targeted in this study
  • Accurate quantification of all the drugs in the panel, over a wide range of concentrations, without any sacrifice to data quality
  • Overall performance of the system resulted in excellent precision and reproducibility in the reported data, even at low concentration levels 

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