GEN-MKT-18-7897-A
Feb 16, 2017 | Blogs, Forensic | 0 comments
While most analytes in forensic applications analyze well with positive ionization, there are analytes that show better ionization efficiency with negative ionization, for example, acidic compounds. These analytes include ethanol metabolites such as ethyl glucuronide (ETG), ethyl sulfate (ETS), and the barbiturates such as amobarbital, butabarbital, butalbital, pentobarbital, phenobarbital, and secobarbital.
In this technical note, researchers demonstrated a method to simultaneously analyze ethanol metabolites and barbiturates in human urine using QTRAP®/Triple Quad 4500 LC-MS/MS system. Sample preparation is based on a simple “dilute and shoot” methodology. The method has a total runtime of 5 minutes, shows good sensitivity and is very robust. More than 800 continuous injections of human urine samples were performed on a single LC column with no deterioration in performance evident.
How does this test play out in real-world scenarios? ETG and ETS are biomarkers for determining the presence of alcohol over the past 80 hours where ETG is the direct metabolite of alcohol. ETG is only detected if alcohol has been consumed. What is more is that urine tests are the most common and inexpensive choice when testing for drug use and can be easily captured. Making sure results stand up in court, but also being able to run simultaneous drug screenings will help your lab keep up with sample workloads while also producing reliable results.
In drug discovery and development, Metabolite Identification (Met ID) plays a critical role in understanding biotransformation pathways, ensuring safety, and meeting regulatory requirements. Advanced mass spectrometry techniques have revolutionized this process, particularly through electron-based fragmentation methods such as Electron Activated Dissociation (EAD) and Electron Transfer Dissociation (ETD). While both techniques leverage electron interactions to generate informative fragment ions, they differ significantly in mechanism, performance, and suitability for Met ID workflows.
In analytical laboratories, performance is not optional. Whether supporting regulated pharmaceutical workflows, high-throughput CRO operations, clinical reporting, or food and environmental testing, your mass spectrometry and capillary electrophoresis systems are critical to productivity, compliance, and scientific confidence.
Naturally occurring toxins are an unavoidable reality of today’s global food supply, and among them, alkaloids represent one of the most analytically challenging and safety‑critical compound classes. Produced by plants as natural defence mechanisms, alkaloids can unintentionally enter food through contamination, co‑harvesting, or adulteration, posing serious risks to consumer health and regulatory compliance.
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