Automation of Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) Multi-method for GC/MS Analysis of Drugs of Abuse in Human Serum

Psychotropic drugs (cannabis, amphetamines, opiates, cocaine) are illegal; however, widely used in Germany. The quantitative detection of these substances in blood is essential to determine drug use in cases of driving under the influence, which is forbidden by law. The use of solid phase extraction (SPE) for the preparation of clinical samples is an established method for the analysis of drugs of abuse. An automated SPE method was used to process human serum samples for the analysis of several standard drugs and their metabolites (Table 1).
TRILUTION LH software and the GX-271 ASPEC system were employed to perform the liquid handling and SPE method (Figure 1). The samples were derivatized after extraction and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The automated method was transferred and validated from a previously used manual method. This application demonstrates the extraordinary flexibility of the GX-271 ASPEC and TRILUTION LH software since the desired SPE products can be eluted in fractionated mode.