Development of a stand-alone affinity clean-up for lysergic acid diethylamide in urine

A total analysis scheme for lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) from human urine is described. A simple ELISA technique led to the development and optimization of an affinity clean-up cartridge, resulting in high purification factors with a single combined extraction/clean-up step. LSD can be measured with a straightforward HPLC-fluorescence technique, which minimizes operating complexity and process implementation time. The method has been applied to urine containing 0.5 ng ml-1 LDS, and the ability of high-affinity materials to preconcentrate a sample into a small volume should allow the working range of the procedure to be adjusted as required.