Validity of screening methods for drugs of abuse in biological fluids I. Heroin in urine

Abstract

In evaluating methods of detecting drugs of abuse in biological fluids it is of special importance to determine the ability of detecting a drug or its metabolites in biological fluids. To evaluate several methods of detecting heroin use by urine analysis for morphine and its metabolites, single intravenous doses of 2.5 and 5 mg/70 kg heroin were administered a week apart in random order to 10 nontolerant subjects and their urine was collected for the week following. Along with pre‐drug control urines, each sample was coded, randomized, and analyzed under blind conditions by the following methods: (1) thin‐layer chromatography (TLC) with iodoplatinate preceded by each of 4 extraction procedures, organic solvent and ion exchange resin impregnated paper extraction both without and with prior acid hydrolysis; (2) the free radical assay technique (FRAT); (3) radioimmunoassay (RIA); and (4) the Technicon Autoanalyzer. There was a high probability of detection for the first 8 hours by all methods except the Technicon Autoanalyzer (which gave a low proportion of positives 8 hours after the 2.5 mg per 70 kg heroin dose); up to 16 hours with TLC procedures with hydrolysis and FRAT; and up to 32 to 48 hours with RIA.