Drug Detection in Urine by Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Abstract The analytical methods of thin-layer chromatography (TLC), gas chromatography (GC), and mass spectrometry (MS) have gained general acceptance as basic tools of the clinical and forensic toxicologist. The utility of these techniques resides in their ability to separate and identify a wide range of organic materials at relatively low detection limits. Assuming one has access to all of these procedures, when and how they are used will often depend on the degree of specificity one wishes to attach to the analytical data generated. In forensic laboratories, a thorough confirmation of all results is necessary if the analytical conclusions are to withstand the close scrutiny normally encountered during a legal hearing, On the other hand, clinical laboratories are often interested in rapid, simple, and economic testing procedures that can be executed on vast numbers of specimens. These tests are intended to provide data that are clinically reliable and have diagnostic value; however, they may not always yield data that are indisputable in a court of law. Of course, ideally, both the forensic and clinical toxicologists are continually striving for procedures that combine speed, versatility, and specificity. Undoubtedly, under these circumstances the mass spectrometer can be expected to play a far more important role in both types of laboratories in the future years.