High-sensitivity immunochromatographic assay based on time-resolved fluorescence microspheres for the simultaneous...

Mescaline and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) are strong psychedelics that significantly compromise social safety and public health. Satisfying the rapid detection requirements for public security drug enforcement is challenging because of the high costs and long durations associated with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). To address these challenges, this study established an immunochromatographic method for the simultaneous detection of mescaline and LSD in hair based on time-resolved fluorescent microspheres. By optimizing key parameters such as the type and pH of the activation buffer, the pH of the labeling buffer, the concentrations of the detection lines (T₁/T₂) and the control line (C line), and the antibody labeling amount, under optimal conditions, the detection limits of this method for mescaline and LSD were 16.5 pg/mg and 12.5 pg/mg, respectively. The recovery rate ranged from 94.98 to 109.83%, and the coefficient of variation ranged from 2.24 to 8.48%, indicating excellent sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. The detection results of real samples were essentially consistent with those of LC-MS/MS. Consequently, this method allows preliminary testing of hair samples in forensic labs, providing an efficient, reliable prescreening tool before LC-MS/MS confirmation.