An evaluation of the cut-off value of methamphetamine in hair samples via HPLC-MS/MS

• Published in: Forensic science international Vol. 306; p. 110094
• Main Authors: Ou, Jun, Zhang, Yingyi, Chen, Shenshu, Zhong, Chaoqun, Xu, Qilin, Xu, Daihua, Yan, Xiaoli
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01-01-2020; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Alcohol; Amphetamine; Amphetamines; Analysis; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Caustic soda; Central Nervous System Stimulants - analysis; China; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Cut-off; Drug abuse; Drug misuse; Drug testing; Forensic sciences; Forensic Toxicology; Hair; Hair - chemistry; Hair analysis; High-performance liquid chromatography; HPLC-MS/MS; Humans; Limit of Detection; Liquid chromatography; Mass Spectrometry; Mathematical analysis; Methamphetamine; Methamphetamine - analysis; Methods; Quality control; Quality standards; Substance Abuse Detection - methods; Substance-Related Disorders - diagnosis; China; Hair; HPLC-MS/MS; Amphetamine; Cut-off; Analysis; Methamphetamine; Drug misuse
• ISSN: 0379-0738; 1872-6283
• DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.110094

•The analytic method of MAMP and AMP in hair was optimized.•LOD and LOQ for MAMP under the established analytic method were 0.004 and 0.01ng/mg respectively.•Based on the data from 563 MAMP Chinese users, the cut-off value is proposed to be 0.97ng/mg.•The cut-off value is optimized by ROC and AMP detection rate analysis.
Methamphetamine (MAMP) is one of the most commonly abused illicit drugs in Asian countries, which belongs to the amphetamine-type stimulant class of substances. To detect the chronic drug misuse, human hairs have often been used as analytical specimens due to their long detection windows and easy accessibility. However, there is no investigation regarding the cut-off value of MAMP detection used in black-hair Chinese populations. Based on the analytical data obtained from 563 MAMP users, the cut-off value was found to be 0.97 ng/mg for the simultaneous detection of MAMP and amphetamine (AMP) ≥0.004 ng/mg (LOD). Through the established HPLC-MS/MS analytical method, the limits of detection and quantification of MAMP were 0.004 and 0.01 ng/mg, respectively. The cut-off value was optimized by AMP detection rate and receiver operating characteristic analysis, and the results were consistent with the previously reported MAMP/AMP ratio.