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Published:
Journal of Analytical Toxicology,
ISSN 0146-4760,
Volume 30, Number 8, October 2006,
pp.545-550
Distribution of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and
Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) in Postmortem and Antemortem Specimens
Ray H. Liu[1,2], Hsiu-Chuan Liu[1], and Dong-Liang Lin[1,3,4],
[1]Department of Forensic Toxicology, Institute of Forensic Medicine, Ministry
of Justice, Taipei, Taiwan;
[2]Department of Medical Technology, Fooyin University, Kaohsiung Hsien, Taiwan;
[3]Department of Forensic Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University,
Taipei, Taiwan; and
[4]Department of Medical Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
With increasing requests for the analysis of various specimens
related to fatal and non-fatal abuse of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy,
MDMA), the toxicology laboratory of the Institute of Forensic Medicine has established
protocols for the analysis of MDMA and related compounds in hair, urine, and
various postmortem specimens. Analytical protocols include extraction, derivatization,
and gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric analysis adapting deuterated
analogs of the analytes as internal standards. Data resulting from these analyses
and hereby reported include postmortem distribution of MDMA and methylenedioxyamphetamine
(MDA) in heart blood, gastric content, urine, and bile specimens from 20 fatal
cases; other drugs found in the heart blood from these 20 cases; and the distribution
of MDMA and MDA in 25 antemortem urine and 6 hair specimens. The MDA/MDMA concentration
ratio observed in a limited number of hair specimens (n = 6) are consistent
and appear to be higher than those found in other specimens. Compared to other
commonly abused drugs (e.g., cocaine and heroin), the “drug/metabolite”
concentration ratio (MDMA/MDA) in hair is not significantly different from the
ratios derived from other specimens, such as urine and blood. This observation
is consistent with the relative drug/metabolite incorporation rates reported
for cocaine/benzoylecgonine, tetrahydrocannabinol/tetrahydrocannabinoic acid,
and MDMA/MDA.
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