The Forensic Determination of Drugs of Abuse Using Liquid Chromatography with Electrochemical Detection: A Review

Psychoactive tryptamines from basidiomycetes

The review lists natural sources, i.e. strains and species of fungi producing predominantly psychoactive tryptamines (indolealkylamines), their chemical structure and properties, toxic effects on the man and psychic symptoms of intoxication. It describes the biosynthesis and production of some tryptamines by the mycelial culture of Psilocybe bohemica Sebek, a survey of methods for their analysis and isolation. It evaluates the worldwide use and abuse of psychoactive fungi as sources of drugs in general and in the Czechia in particular during the last two and a half decades.

Novel strategies for clinical drug analysis with new column technology in liquid chromatography

Clinical drug analysis has been the focus of much attention and controversy because of the increase in substance abuse testing of addicts, patients, employees and others, in addition to the rapidly growing fields of therapeutic drug monitoring and clinical toxicology. This review focuses on the latest methodological and technological advances in liquid chromatography (LC) as it is applied to clinical drug analysis. Based on the author's experience, key chromatographic parameters such as carbon load, functionalities and temperature are proposed for the separation of structurally similar metabolites and for resolving chromatographic interferences by other drugs and metabolites. Novel sample preparation for cyclosporine and gradient elution of its metabolites are reviewed, followed by an update on monitoring of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine with emphasis on automated sample preparation. Various approaches of direct sample analysis are advocated for increased efficiency as a result of minimal sample preparation and potential advantages such as decreased exposure of personnel to infectious samples. An update of microbore LC indicates that 2-mm columns may be readily used for clinical paediatric and neonatal analysis without dedicated chromatographs. Potential applications of multidimensional-multimodal chromatography include analyses of a cocaine impurity, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, and five ingredients of a common cold medication.

Advances in liquid chromatography and related methodologies for therapeutic drug monitoring

In this article the merits of current liquid chromatography (LC) columns and techniques are reviewed, to include the following topics: (1) a brief introduction to rational therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) to justify drug measurements; (2) selected recent survey results from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) to establish the current utilization pattern of LC for TDM in the USA; (3) LC analyses of major classes of drugs--antiarrhythmics, antidepressants, antiepileptics, antimicrobials, cyclosporine, and others--with emphasis on analysis of these drugs in human serum or plasma, by focusing on the less usual, reversed-phase functional groups such as CN and phenyl, and by the use of "mini" columns, silica and polymeric columns, the emphasis being reduced on the well-established C-18 columns; (4) high-speed LC; (5) various approaches of direct sample analysis--solvent extraction, automated sample processing, column switching, micro-injections, micellar chromatography, electrochemical detection with photolytic derivation, and the internal surface reversed-phase column of Pinkerton; (6) microbore LC drug analysis; (7) clinical chiral separation; and (8) overall conclusions.

Sensitive HPLC analysis of basic drugs of abuse having weak UV absorptivity using columns with low carbon loadings monitored at 205 nm

The selection of columns containing cyanopropyl-bonded silica (3.5% carbon loading) and their use under reversed-phase conditions has permitted short retention times with good resolution to be obtained for 16 basic drugs of abuse and three metabolites. Predominantly aqueous mobile phases enable the determination of these weakly UV-absorbing compounds over the concentration range 0.7-18 microg ml(-1) with detection at 205 nm. Trimethylsilyl-bonded silica (2.6% carbon loading) also provided good resolution but required longer analysis times.