Fast and efficient analyses of the post-mortem human blood and bone marrow using DI-SPME/LC-TOFMS method for forensic medicine purposes.

For the first time the method DI-SPME/LC-TOFMS was used and developed in order to determine the large antidepressant drugs in real forensic cases. The aim of the study was to optimize the new DI-SPME/LC-TOFMS method for the quantification of the large group of psychotropic drugs such as benzodiazepines, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, selective serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants and sleeping pills "Z". The volume of the sample, adsorption time, post-adsorption purification and desorption time were precisely optimized. The validation parameters such as limit of detection and quantification, linearity, precision during and between days and the matrix effect were determined. All obtained values are within the acceptable range for toxicological analyses. The usefulness of the method was confirmed by analyzing the post-mortem samples. Drug concentrations were determined in real samples with high precision, which gives perspectives for the DI-SPME/LC-TOFMS routine application in toxicological and forensic analyses in the future.

Dried blood spots sampling in case samples deprived of hematocrit level information - Investigation and calculation strategy.

The application of a new calculation strategy for the psychotropic drug concentration in blood and bone marrow samples in the form of dried blood spots (DBS) was the main aim of the study. The standard DBS method consists of the deposition of the capillary blood onto the dedicated paper cards. Nowadays, the DBS technique is seen as a fast and partly superior microsampling alternative methodology replacing the conventional venous blood and plasma collection. The calculation approach to drug concentration in the limited volume of the case sample, where the hematocrit level cannot be determined, constitutes an important step of this method. The method has been validated and the results of the determination of alprazolam and diazepam previously spiked in the post-mortem blood and bone marrow sample have been satisfactory.

Direct analysis from dried blood spot card surfaces with direct probe mass spectrometry - Evaluation study.

RATIONALE: The Direct Probe Mass Spectrometry (DIPMS) method allows successful analysis of powders, solid and liquid samples. The potential of direct surface analysis could find further application in the examination of surfaces with good absorption properties such as Dried Blood Spot (DBS) cards that constitute a great alternative to the classical blood collection method directly from veins. METHODS: DIPMS was performed with the ionization carried out under atmospheric pressure in an Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization source. Direct analysis of diazepam solutions in methanol and after their deposition onto a DBS card was conducted. Subsequently, images of the DBS cards with and without blood samples were acquired using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). RESULTS: Direct quantitative analysis of diazepam liquid samples by DIPMS was successfully performed. Linear correlation between the concentration of diazepam and the peak intensity with a R2 coefficient of 0.937 was obtained. However, the method failed when the analysis was conducted directly from the surface of the DBS cards and no diazepam peak was observed in the mass spectrum. The SEM images confirmed the good absorption properties of DBS cards and the absence of blood components on the surface. CONCLUSIONS: DIPMS is an excellent technique for the rapid, direct analysis of powders, solid and liquid samples; however, the potential of the method is limited when samples are deposited on surfaces with good absorption properties such as DBS cards.