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The detection of new designer drugs is often a difficult issue in forensic urine drug testing as immunoassays are the primary screening methodology for drugs of abuse in many of these laboratories. Cross-reactivity of compounds with immunoassay kits can either aid or complicate the detection of a variety of drug and drug metabolites. For instance, emerging designer drugs that share structural similarities to amphetamines and phencyclidine (PCP) have the potential to cross-react with assays designed to detect these compounds. This study evaluates the cross-reactivity of five commercially available immunoassay reagent kits for 94 designer drugs on a Roche/Hitachi Modular P automated screening instrument. The compounds used in this study are grouped by structural class as follows: 2,5-dimethoxyamphetamines, 2C (2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamines), β-keto amphetamines, substituted amphetamines, piperazines, α-pyrrolidinopropiophenones, tryptamines and PCP analogs. A drug concentration of 100 µg/mL was used to determine cross-reactivity for each assay and resulted in the following positive rates: Microgenics DRI® Ecstasy enzyme assay (19%), Microgenics DRI® Phencyclidine enzyme assay (20%), Lin-Zhi Methamphetamine enzyme immunoassay (39%), Siemens/Syva® EMIT®II Plus Amphetamines assay (43%) and CEDIA® DAU Amphetamine/Ecstasy assay (57%). Of the 94 designer drugs tested, 14% produced a negative response for all five kits. No designer drug used in this study generated a positive result for all five immunoassay kits. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a study which investigates the overdose of extended-release oxymorphone hydrochloride tablets which resulted to death. It mentions the use of liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry on the analysis of the concentrations of opiate in the blood and urine. Results show that the compounds temazepam, doxylamine and dextromethorphan are present in the urine samples.

A previous study suggested that small amounts of morphine are metabolically converted to hydromorphone. In the present study, morphine positive urine specimens obtained from a postmortem laboratory and a random urinalysis program were tested for morphine, codeine, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, and oxycodone to assess the possibility that small amounts of hydromorphone are produced from the metabolism of morphine. The opioids were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry as their respective trimethylsilyl derivatives following solid phase extraction. The limit of detection for hydromorphone was 5 ng/mL. A total of 73 morphine positive urine specimens were analyzed, with morphine concentrations ranging from 131 to 297,000 ng/mL. Hydromorphone was present at a concentration ≥5 ng/mL in 36 of these specimens at concentrations ranging from 0.02% to 12% of the morphine concentration. Hydrocodone was not detected in these specimens at the assay detection limit of 25 ng/mL. These results support earlier work suggesting that the detection of hydromorphone in urine specimens does not necessarily mean that exogenous hydromorphone or hydrocodone was used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the interpretation of analytical findings on urine samples generated by the laboratory by the forensic toxicologist. Role of the identified substances in the cause of death; Assessment of toxicity or impairment in living individuals; Correlation of impairment with drug concentrations.

The article examines the presence of 1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)-piperazine (TFMPP) and 1-benzylpiperazine (BZP) in urine samples using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The BZP and TFMPP were detected through a full GC-MS scan of the seven U.S. service members' urine analysis specimen. Meanwhile, the LC-ESI-MS confirmed that in selected ion monitoring mode (SIM) yielded urinary concentrations ranging from 13.0 to 429.1 milligram/liter (mg/L) for BZP and 0.79 to 25.4 mg/L for TFMPP.

The article discusses a study designed to supplement previous attempts to establish an accurate range of normal endogenous gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) concentrations in random antemortem urine samples. It aims to determine the effect of gender, race, age, medication, and select medical conditions on endogenous concentrations of GHB in urine and the proposed endogenous urinary GHB cutoff of 10 µg/mL.

Employs gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to monitor the excretion of total cannabinol in 4381 urine voids collected from seven participants through a controlled clinical study of multiple oral doses of cannabinol. Indication that terminal urinal elimination of cannabinol following oral administration was approximately two to three days.

Cites findings of a toxicological testing conducted on sedative-analgesic xylazine which is used in veterinary medicine after cases of xylazine's involvement in human drug-related deaths and impairment were observed. Medical history of the 42-year-old man who died after taking the medication; Details of methodology adopted by researchers to detect xylazine in blood of the patient; Revelation that full scan electron ionization gas chromatography-mass spectrometry confirmed presence of xylazine in the patient.