Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the analysis of amphetamines in plasma

A fast and selective ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS-MS) method for the determination of amphetamines (amphetamine, methamphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, methylenedioxyamphetamine, methylenedioxyethylamphetamine, ephedrine, and p-methoxyamphetamine) in plasma has been developed and validated. Sample preparation was performed by liquid-liquid extraction using ethyl acetate. For optimized chromatographic performance with repeatable retention times, narrow and symmetrical peaks, and focusing all analytes at the column inlet, a gradient start, with acid mobile phase consisting of 0.1% formic acid and methanol was chosen. Positive electrospray ionization MS-MS detection was performed with two multiple reaction monitoring transitions for each analyte. Deuteriumlabeled internal standards were used for five of the analytes. The limit of detection was in the range 0.25-1.25 ng/mL, and the limit of quantification was fixed at the lowest calibrator of 2.5 ng/mL for all of the compounds. The RSD values of the intra- and interassay precision and accuracy were lower than 11% at four concentration levels, including two external quality controls. No or only minor matrix effects were observed, and the extraction method presented recoveries higher than 93% for all the compounds. Total run time, including equilibration, was 12 min. The method is routinely used at the National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology for quantitative determination of the main amphetamines in plasma from forensic and driving under the influence cases.