Cocaine (benzoylmethylecgonine) is one of the most abused illicit drugs in the world. Many cocaine users wrap banknotes to inhale this drug, and banknotes become contaminated during this process. This study was performed to investigate the matrix effects on the determination of cocaine on banknotes. A sonication-enhanced, non-destructive technique was employed to extract cocaine from paper currency. Quantitation of cocaine was achieved using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection at 230 nm, whereas identification was accomplished using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The experimental design incorporated the external calibration method (ECM), internal standard method (ISM), and standard addition method (SAM) to simultaneously assess the sample matrix effects. The statistical paired <i>t</i> test was further employed to determine if the results obtained from the three methods were significantly different. In addition, extraction efficiency, spike recovery, and detection limit were determined. The unique experimental design allowed for ECM, ISM, and SAM methods to concurrently determine the contents of cocaine on banknotes collected around Metro-Detroit. The concentration range of cocaine on the samples was 0.622 to 14.6 μg/bill with the average of 6.94 μg/bill. The methods are simple and suitable for forensic science application as well as in educational laboratory practice.

Investigation of matrix effect on determination of cocaine on banknotes by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with data analysis using external calibration, internal standard, and standard addition methods

ACS Spring 2022

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