How to improve seized drug analysis workflows and throughput with fast, specific analysis by direct ionisation mass spectrometry?

The increase in the number and diversity of drugs of abuse is a major concern; it also presents significant challenges for forensic laboratories who are involved in the analysis of seized substances and are under time pressure to produce results quickly.  Most forensic drug chemistry laboratories follow SWGDRUG recommendations which stipulate that two independent techniques should be used to analyze a drug sample.  A typical workflow may include colorimetric or TLC presumptive analysis followed up by a more selective method such as GC/MS .  However,  for many drugs, colorimetric tests are not available or result in a high rate of false positives and TLC analysis can be time consuming. Infrared screening methods are also commonly used but these can also produce inconclusive results when analyzing drug mixtures. There is a need for a quick means of analysis to provide a more detailed screen result prior to a confirmatory test. A technique with high selectivity and rapid analysis could potentially improve the workflow for seized drug analysis. Samples are analyzed directly, with minimal sample preparation and collision induced fragmentation is used to generate both precursor and product ions utilizing in-source fragmentation. The data is processed by Live ID software which facilitates near-real-time matching of acquired data to a spectral library and determines the average match factor.  Results are provided in around one minute per sample.  The RADIAN ASAP uses the specificity of mass spectrometry for improved drug identification and enables a rapid triage of samples and depending on the nature of the sample can be considered either a Category A or B technique when following SWGDRUG guidelines. This presentation will discuss the design features of the RADIAN ASAP mass spectrometer system that make it particularly suitable for seized drug analysis.  An explanation of the ionization process will be discussed, and examples of data will be presented from both ‘pure’ drugs and drug mixtures.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn how direct ionization analysis can aid the forensic chemist

2. Learn how the RADIAN ASAP system characterizes seized drug substances

3. Learn how the RADIAN ASAP system minimizes sample preparation required for analysis