Direct Detection of Drugs of Abuse in Whole Hemolyzed Blood Using the EMIT d.a.u. Urine Assays*

Abstract

A simple, rapid, and sensitive method for the direct detection of a broad spectrum of drugs of abuse in hemolyzed whole blood by the enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT) is described. A methanolic extract of 1 mL of whole blood is directly analyzed with EMIT urine assays. The proposed method is very sensitive and can detect drug concentrations in low therapeutic to subtherapeutic concentration ranges for all ten assays used. The EMIT urine assays used in this study included those for opiates, amphetamines, methadone, barbiturates, phencyclidine (PCP), methaqualone, propoxyphene, cocaine metabolite, benzodiazepine metabolite, and cannabinoids. This method should be most useful for screening forensic cases by EMIT when no urine is available, such as in impaired driving cases.