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Rapid Analysis of Trace Drugs and Metabolites Using a Thermal Desorption DART-MS Configuration

Published

Author(s)

Edward R. Sisco, Thomas P. Forbes, Matthew E. Staymates, John G. Gillen

Abstract

The need to rapidly analyze trace narcotic samples for screening or confirmatory purposes is of increasing desire to the forensic, homeland security, and criminal justice sectors. This work presents a novel method for the detection of trace drugs and metabolites, using a thermal desorption direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry configuration (TD-DART-MS). A variation on traditional DART, this configuration allows for the analysis of a sample directly off of swipe material, independent of the DART source. Over thirty trace narcotics were analyzed and could be rapidly differentiated and searched. Sensitivity for these compounds, under non-optimized conditions, ranged from single nanograms to hundreds of picograms.
Citation
Analytical Methods
Volume
8

Keywords

Thermal Desorption, DART-MS, Ambient Ionization, Trace Narcotics

Citation

Sisco, E. , Forbes, T. , Staymates, M. and Gillen, J. (2016), Rapid Analysis of Trace Drugs and Metabolites Using a Thermal Desorption DART-MS Configuration, Analytical Methods, [online], https://doi.org/10.1039/c6ay01851c (Accessed April 19, 2024)
Created August 13, 2016, Updated November 10, 2018