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Published:
Journal of Analytical Toxicology,
ISSN 0146-4760,
Volume 30, Number 8, October 2006,
pp.524-538
LC–MS-(TOF) Analysis Method for Benzodiazepines in
Urine Samples from Alleged Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault Victims
Mahmoud A. ElSohly[1,2,3], Waseem Gul[1,2], Kareem M. ElSohly[1], Bharathi
Avula[2], and Ikhlas A. Khan[2,4]
[1]ElSohly Laboratories, Inc., 5 Industrial Park Drive, Oxford, Mississippi
38655;
[2]National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR), School of Pharmacy,
University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677;
[3]Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi,
University, Mississippi 38677; and
[4]Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi,
University, Mississippi 38677
In recent years there has been an increase in the number of reports
in the U.S. of the use of drugs to commit sexual assault. In 1994, a nationwide
urine testing program was developed to assess the incidence of the use of drugs
to facilitate sexual assault and provide information for use in the investigation
of these crimes. Urine samples were collected from victims of suspected drug-induced
sexual assault by law enforcement agencies, emergency rooms, and rape crisis
centers. The most implicated drug class was benzodiazepines, either alone or
in combination with alcohol. In this report, a procedure was developed for the
screening of 22 benzodiazepines in human urine by liquid chromatography–time
of flight-mass spectrometry [LC–MS-(TOF)]. The limit of quantitation for
all benzodiazepines ranged from 2 to 10 ng/mL, and the limit of detection was
0.5 to 3.0 ng/mL. These results suggest that the method sensitivity is suitable
to screen for all 22 benzodiazepines in human urine at low levels. The method
was used to analyze samples previously reported to have screened positive for
benzodiazepines by immunoassay at 50 ng/mL cut off but failed to confirm by
a gas chromatography–MS method. The results of reanalysis of these samples
using this LC–MS method are reported.
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