Matthew Trass

The current state of economic affairs is tumultous; as the economy struggles to bounce back, companies across all industries are becoming more creative in finding ways to reduce costs without sacrificing the quality of their goods or services. According to a recent survey conducted by the Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT), 64.5% of forensic labs surveyed are implementing changes, or plan to implement changes, as a result of limited resources.

The goal of this study was to develop an LC-MS-MS method for urinary synthetic cannabinoids for use in confirmational analysis. Because of the affinity of the Strata-X-Drug N SPE sorbent for synthetic cannabinoids, a rapid extraction procedure featuring a very strong wash was developed. The method also incorporates mass spectrometry polarity switching to achieve detection of the six synthetic cannabinoids. The Kinetex PFP core-shell HPLC/UHPLC column selectivity complimented the scheduled polarity switching by eluting the six compounds in the correct windows of polarity.

In an effort to contain the largest oil spill in United States history, nearly a million gallons of dispersant have been pumped into the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, very little is known about the impact of these dispersants on humans, wildlife, and the environment. In this technical note we show how GC-MS with Zebron? ZB-WAXPLUS? GC columns can be used to detect COREXIT 9527 directly from seawater. To improve GC-MS stability, a cleanup procedure using the Strata?-X-A sorbent is used to virtually eliminate matrix interferences.

A simple and fast method for the analysis of gabapentin in plasma has been developed over the concentration range 0.5 to 25 μg/mL, which covers the commonly accepted therapeutic levels in patient samples. The LC-MS-MS analysis of gabapentin in plasma is achieved in less than 2 min using a Kinetex core-shell column following protein precipitation for sample clean up.

Utilizing a fast and simplified solid phase extraction (SPE) procedure with Strata-X-Drug N, barbiturates from urine samples were concentrated and cleaned prior to LC–MS-MS analysis. This SPE sorbent was specifically designed and QC’d for neutral drugs of abuse analysis and does not require conditioning or equilibrating steps, saving both time and solvent while providing high recoveries at the 300 ng/ mL cutoff level.

An improved HPLC analysis for iso-alpha hop acids in beer is demonstrated using the Kinetex 2.6 μm core-shell column, resulting in improved peak shape, easier quantitation, and reduced analysis times. Sample cleanup using Strata-X can also remove many potential interferences in the beer matrix, resulting in cleaner samples for HPLC analysis.

This study demonstrates a faster method of analysis when coupling a simplified and effective SPE procedure with a core-shell HPLC column and LC–MS-MS detection.

Barbiturates are a class of antidepressants whose abuse and addiction by recreational users has become a widespread problem (www.nlm.nih.gov). In our work we strived to streamline the barbiturate screening process to provide a fast, cost-effective, and reproducible method from start to finish for forensic labs who are involved in high-throughput processing.

The Zebron ZB-Bioethanol GC column reduces fuel ethanol analysis time to less than 8 min, while providing complete resolution of methanol and ethanol from all denaturant components. This newly developed GC column is suitable for analysis following ASTM Method D 5501 and Europe prEN 15376.