Evaluation of Oral Fluid as a Specimen for DUID.

Drugged driving has become more prevalent than drunk driving and is quickly gaining national attention due to increased prescription drug abuse and recent cannabis legalization. Unlike alcohol, police officers do not generally have access to approved devices to screen for drugs at the roadside. Onsite drug screening devices do exist and are used in other countries, but have not garnered widespread approval for use in the United States in driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) cases. One reason for this is that the devices are designed to test oral fluid, which is not a commonly accepted specimen for DUID. A study was conducted to test the effectiveness of using oral fluid during routine traffic stops in DUID cases in conjunction with drug recognition expert (DRE) officers from the Tulsa Police Department (TPD). Samples were screened at the roadside using an Alere DDS®2 Mobile Test System and Quantisal™ collection devices were used for laboratory based screening by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmation by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The results of the DRE observations, alternate specimens like blood and urine, onsite oral fluid screening and laboratory based oral fluid screening and confirmations were used to assess the usefulness of oral fluid as a DUID specimen. Due to the small sample size (N = 9), no significant differences in the measured performance of onsite and laboratory based tests was seen. The results of this study indicate that oral fluid testing is a viable option both at the roadside and in a laboratory setting.

The quantitation of cocaine on U.S. currency: survey and significance of the levels of contamination.

It has long been suspected that the illicit distribution of cocaine in the United States has led to a large-scale contamination of the currency supply. To investigate the extent of contamination, 418 currency samples (4174 bills) were collected from 90 locations around the United States from 1993 to 2009. The extent of their cocaine contamination was quantitated via gas chromatography/mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. The level of cocaine contamination was determined to average 2.34 ng/bill across all denominations ($1, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100). Levels of cocaine contamination on currency submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory in criminal cases over the 1993-2001 timeframe had significantly higher contamination than currency in general circulation. A mathematical model was developed based on the background survey that indicates the likelihood of drawing a bill in specific concentration ranges. For example, there is a 0.8349 likelihood that random bill will have contamination less than 20 ng.

Simultaneous quantification of vinblastine and desacetylvinblastine concentrations in canine plasma and urine samples using LC-APCI-MS/MS.

A highly sensitive and specific liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (LC/APCI-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of vinblastine and its metabolite, desacetylvinblastine, in canine plasma and urine samples. Plasma and urine samples were processed by a solid phase extraction procedure. The optimal chromatographic behavior of these analytes was achieved on pentafluorophenyl (PFP) propyl analytical column (5µm, 50×2.1mm) under isocratic elution of 0.75mL/min with a mobile phase of 5mM ammonium acetate and methanol. The samples were analyzed in positive ion, multiple reaction monitoring mode. The calibration curves were linear over 0.125-2ng/mL (lower calibration curve); 2-100ng/mL (higher calibration curve) and 0.125-5ng/mL for vinblastine and desacetylvinblastine in plasma, and over 1-2000ng/mL and 0.5-100ng/mL for vinblastine and desacetylvinblastine in urine samples, respectively. The limits of quantitation of vinblastine and desacetylvinblastine were 0.125ng/mL in both matrices. The intra and interday accuracy was above 89% and precision below 8.6% for both analytes in both matrices. The developed method was successfully applied to ongoing in vivo vinblastine pharmacokinetic studies in dogs.