Drug testing and analysis
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Drug testing and analysis · Jan 2019
The pharmacokinetics of ketamine following intramuscular injection to F344 rats.
Ketamine is a glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist that is a rapid-acting dissociative anesthetic. It has been proposed as an adjuvant treatment along with other drugs (atropine, midazolam, pralidoxime) used in the current standard of care (SOC) for organophosphate and nerve agent exposures. Ketamine is a pharmaceutical agent that is readily available to most clinicians in emergency departments and possesses a broad therapeutic index with well-characterized effects in humans. ⋯ Following sample analysis, the pharmacokinetics were determined using non-compartmental analysis. The addition of the current SOC had a minimal impact on the pharmacokinetics of ketamine following intramuscular administration and repeated dosing at 7.5 mg/kg every 90 minutes allows for sustained plasma concentrations above 100 ng/mL. The pharmacokinetics of ketamine with and without the SOC in rats supports further investigation of the efficacy of ketamine co-administration with the SOC following nerve agent exposure in animal models.
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Drug testing and analysis · Jan 2019
Screening, quantification, and confirmation of synthetic cannabinoid metabolites in urine by UHPLC-QTOF-MS.
Synthetic cannabinoids are one of the most significant groups within the category new psychoactive substances (NPS) and in recent years new compounds have continuously been introduced to the market of recreational drugs. A sensitive and quantitative screening method in urine with metabolites of frequently seized compounds in Norway (AB-FUBINACA, AB-PINACA, AB-CHMINACA, AM-2201, AKB48, 5F-AKB48, BB-22, JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-081, JWH-122, JWH-203, JWH-250, PB-22, 5F-PB-22, RCS-4, THJ-2201, and UR-144) using ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) has been developed. The samples were treated with ß-glucuronidase prior to extraction and solid-phase extraction was used. ⋯ One thousand urine samples from subjects in drug withdrawal programs were analyzed using the presented method. The metabolite AB-FUBINACA M3, hydroxylated metabolite of 5F-AKB48, hydroxylated metabolite of AKB48, AKB48 N-pentanoic acid, 5F-PB-22 3-carboxyindole, BB-22 3-carboxyindole, JWH-018 N-(5-hydroxypentyl), JWH-018 N-pentanoic acid, and JWH-073 N-butanoic acid were quantified and confirmed in 2.3% of the samples. The method was proven to be sensitive, selective and robust for routine use for the investigated metabolites.