Opioid detection and quantification in plasma and oral fluid by LC-MS/MS

Area of Science:

• Forensic Toxicology
• Analytical Chemistry
• Pharmacology

Background:

• The opioid crisis necessitates advanced analytical methods for drug detection.
• Accurate quantification of opioids in biological matrices is crucial for patient monitoring and forensic investigations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method.
• To simultaneously detect and quantify six key opioids (fentanyl, buprenorphine, oxycodone, morphine, tramadol, tapentadol) in plasma and oral fluid.

Main Methods:

• Method validation followed FDA guidelines, assessing selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, matrix effect, extraction efficiency, stability, carryover, and dilution integrity.
• Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was employed for sensitive detection and quantification.
• Analysis was performed on authentic plasma and oral fluid samples.

Main Results:

• The validated LC-MS/MS method demonstrated high sensitivity with low limits of quantification (LLOQs) starting at 0.1 ng/mL for fentanyl.
• Excellent precision and accuracy were achieved, with coefficients of variation below 15%.
• Extraction efficiencies exceeded 90% for most analytes, and matrix effects were within acceptable ranges. Oral fluid proved a viable matrix for opioid detection.

Conclusions:

• The developed LC-MS/MS method is robust, reliable, and suitable for simultaneous opioid detection in plasma and oral fluid.
• Oral fluid serves as a promising non-invasive alternative or complementary matrix to plasma for opioid monitoring.
• This method has significant implications for forensic toxicology and clinical drug monitoring in managing the opioid crisis.