[Development of a method for determining antidepressant drugs in nails and its usefulness in forensic toxicology]

The report presents the possibility of using alternative material in determinations of antidepressants taking as exemplified by flupentixol. At the first stage of the study, the method of flupentixol isolation from nails and its identification were elaborated. Determinations were performed in fingernail/toenail samples originating from individuals who had been administered flupentixol in therapeutic doses for at least 12 months before sample collection. The nails were obtained 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10 months after discontinuing the drug administration. The determinations were made by liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray-ionization mass spectrophotometry (LC-ESI-MS). The study showed that 4 months after discontinuing the drug, the nail flupentixol concentration was within the range of 0.086-0.109 ng/mg, after 6 months, the drug level was 0.036-0.042 ng/mg, after 7 months, it was 0.018-0.021 ng/mg and after 8 months - 0.020-0.022 ng/mg. Ten months after discontinuation of therapy, flupentixol was no longer found in nails.