Desomorphine Screening Using Commercial Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays.

Area of Science:

• Forensic Toxicology
• Analytical Chemistry
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Desomorphine (Krokodil) is a potent semi-synthetic opioid with no medical use, illicitly synthesized and associated with severe tissue damage.
• Limited research exists on desomorphine's pharmacology and detection in biological samples.
• Immunoassays are standard for drug screening, but desomorphine's cross-reactivity with opioid antibodies is largely undescribed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the cross-reactivity of desomorphine with six commercially available immunoassays.
• To determine the effectiveness of these assays for screening desomorphine in toxicological analyses.

Main Methods:

• Six enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were tested for cross-reactivity with desomorphine.
• Assays included those targeting general opiates and specific opioids like oxycodone/oxymorphone.
• Cross-reactivity percentages were calculated for each assay.

Main Results:

• Cross-reactivity of desomorphine varied significantly across the tested immunoassays, ranging from less than 2.5% to 77%.
• Immunoassays designed for morphine generally showed higher cross-reactivity with desomorphine compared to oxycodone-targeted assays.
• The Immunalysis Opiates Direct ELISA exhibited the highest cross-reactivity.

Conclusions:

• Several commercially available immunoassays demonstrate sufficient cross-reactivity for potential desomorphine screening.
• Assay selection is critical due to variable cross-reactivity, with morphine-targeted assays showing more promise.
• Further validation is needed, but these findings offer a pathway for detecting this dangerous illicit opioid.