Sample preparation methods for determination of drugs of abuse in hair samples: A review

Hair analysis has assumed increasing importance in the determination of substances of abuse, both in clinical and forensic toxicology investigations. Hair analysis offers particular advantages over other biological matrices (blood and urine), including a larger window of detection, ease of collection and sample stability. In the present work, an overview of sample preparation techniques for the determination of substances of abuse in hair is provided, specifically regarding the principal steps in hair sample treatment-decontamination, extraction and purification. For this purpose, a survey of publications found in the MEDLINE database from 2000 to date was conducted. The most widely consumed substances of abuse and psychotropic drugs were considered. Trends in simplification of hair sample preparation, washing procedures and cleanup methods are discussed. Alternative sample extraction techniques, such as head-space solid phase microextraction (HS-SPDE), supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) are also reported.