Fentanyl is a synthetic narcotic anesthetic that is approximately 200 times more potent than morphine. Owing to the many uses of fentanyl, and the larger potential for abuse, the drug may be included in a forensic toxicology work-up. This creates a need for fast, precise, and accurate measurements of fentanyl in a forensic setting. In our first round of experiments, we assessed the stability of fentanyl when stored at three different temperatures (0 �C, 4 �C, and 25 �C) in simulated urine and demonstrated its stability at those three temperatures over 12 weeks upon analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with a deuterated internal standard. We then compared traditional basic liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction protocols, to a newly developed method, dispersed liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME). The DLLME approach was validated at three concentrations (1 ng/mL, 10 ng/mL, and 100 ng/mL) in simulated urine before using the methodology in forensic cases where fentanyl had been previously identified as a significant toxicological finding.

Fast forensic toxicology: Quantitative analysis of fentanyl in urine by dispersed liquid-liquid microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

247th National Meeting (2014)

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