A method for the sensitive targeted screening of synthetic cannabinoids and opioids in whole blood by LC-QTOF-MS with simultaneous suspect screening using HighResNPS.com

A sensitive method for the qualitative screening of synthetic cannabinoids and opioids in whole blood was developed and validated using alkaline liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and liquid chromatography-Time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS). Estimated limits of detection for validated compounds ranged from 0.03 to 0.29 μg/L (median, 0.04 μg/L) for the 27 opioids and from 0.04 to 0.5 μg/L (median, 0.07 μg/L) for the 23 synthetic cannabinoids. Data processing occurred in two stages; first, a targeted screen was performed using an in-house database containing retention times, accurate masses and MS-MS spectra for 79 cannabinoids and 53 opioids. Suspect screening was then performed using a database downloaded from the crowd sourced NPS data website HighResNPS.com which contains mass, consensus MS-MS data and laboratory-specific predicted retention times for a far greater number of compounds. The method was applied to 61 forensic cases where synthetic cannabinoid or opioid screening was requested by the client or their use was suspected due to case information. CUMYL-PEGACLONE was detected in two cases and etodesnitazine, 5 F-MDMB-PICA, 4-cyano-CUMYL-BUTINACA and carfentanil were detected in one case each. These compounds were within the targeted scope of the method but were also detected through the suspect screening workflow. The method forms a solid base for expansion as more compounds emerge onto the illicit drug market.