A fast and reliable method for GHB quantitation in whole blood by GC–MS/MS (TQD) for forensic purposes

Castro, André Lobo; Tarelho, Sónia; Dias, Mário; Reis, Flávio; Teixeira, Helena M.

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/43979

Use this identifier to reference this record.

Name:	Description:	Size:	Format:
JPBA-2015.pdf		188.8 KB	Adobe PDF	Download

Send Feedback

Authors

Abstract(s)

Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB) is an endogenous compound with a story of clinical use since the 1960’s. However, due to its secondary effects, it has become a controlled substance, entering the illicit market. A fully validated, sensitive and reproducible method for the quantification of GHB by methanolic precipitation and GC-MS/MS (TQD) in whole blood is presented. Using 100 µL of whole blood, obtained results included a LOD and LLOQ of 0.1 mg/L and a recovery of 86% in a working range between 0.1 and 100 mg/L. This method is sensitive and specific to detect the presence of GHB in small amounts of whole blood (both ante-mortem or post-mortem), and is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first GC-MS-MS TQD method that uses different precursor ions and product ions for the identification of GHB and GHB-D6 (internal standard). Hence, this method may be especially useful for the study of endogenous values in this biological sample.

Keywords

Forensic Science Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB) GC-MS/MS Analytical validation Endogenous values Forensic toxicology

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/43979

Citation

Castro AL, Tarelho S, Dias M, Reis F, Teixeira HM, “A fast and reliable method for GHB quantitation in whole blood by GC–MS/MS (TQD) for forensic purposes”, Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 119 (2016) 139–144.