Metrolab Blog

Fast and easy separation of 23 drugs of abuse including high, stable resolution of isobaric opioids from human urine by UHPLC-MS/MS

There is an urgent need for robust analytical methods for performing research on the measurement of drugs of abuse. This has resulted in hospital and screening laboratories needing to research new methods and tools for their screening protocols, manage the ever changing landscape of new novel psychoactive substances, and increase method throughput to meet increasing demand.
The opioid class has several isobaric compounds and the adequate and stable resolution of these compounds is essential in ensuring a robust and accurate analysis. High chromatographic resolution is also important in complex mixtures such as this to minimize co-elution of both monitored and unseen matrix components to ensure optimal ionization efficiency and a reduction in matrix effects. As resolution is a function of efficiency (N), improvements in resolution can be achieved with the use of highly efficient analytical columns.

The Goal
To demonstrate the fast and easy separation of 23 drugs of abuse, including the adequate and stable resolution of isobaric opioids from human urine. The new Thermo Scientific™ Accucore™ Biphenyl solid core column is used in combination with the Thermo Scientific™ Horizon™ UHPLC system and Thermo Scientific™ TSQ Quantiva™ MS/MS system.
To examine method parameters such as retention time stability and resolution robustness to increase the throughput and productivity for routine and research laboratories.

You can download the application note here.