Mass screening and confirmation of barbiturates in urine by RIA/gas chromatography

A rapid, sensitive and specific procedure is described for the mass screening and confirmation of barbiturates in urine specimens. The method is sensitive to 0.5 mug/ml levels of the commonly used barbiturates. The urine samples are screened by radioimmuno-assay. Specimens screened positive are confirmed by gas-liquid chromatography using a flame ionization detector. The barbiturates are analyzed as free acids on a 10% UC W-98 column and as their dimethyl derivatives on a 3% OV-17 column. This dual approach eliminates false positives caused by interfering substances which may be present in the urine, thus resulting in a method specific for the barbiturates.