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From the Streets to the Judicial Evidence: Determination of Traditional Illicit Substances in Drug Seizures by a Rapid and Sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS-Based Platform

Authors :
Gosetti, F
Consonni, V
Ballabio, D
Orlandi, M
Amodio, A
Valeria Picci, M
Visentin, M
Termopoli, V
Gosetti, Fabio
Consonni, Viviana
Ballabio, Davide
Orlandi, Marco Emilio
Amodio, Angelo
Valeria Picci, Maria
Visentin, Marco
Termopoli, Veronica
Gosetti, F
Consonni, V
Ballabio, D
Orlandi, M
Amodio, A
Valeria Picci, M
Visentin, M
Termopoli, V
Gosetti, Fabio
Consonni, Viviana
Ballabio, Davide
Orlandi, Marco Emilio
Amodio, Angelo
Valeria Picci, Maria
Visentin, Marco
Termopoli, Veronica
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

According to the 2021 World Drug Report, around 275 million people use drugs of abuse, and 36 million people suffer from addiction, fostering a thriving market for illicit substances. In Italy, 30,083 people were reported to the Judicial Authority for offenses in violation of the Italian Law D.P.R. 309/1990. These offences are sentenced after a qualitative–quantitative analysis of seized materials. Given the large quantity of seized drugs and the need to perform accurate analytical determinations, Italian forensic laboratories struggle to complete analyses in a short time, delaying the entire reporting process needed to achieve sentencing. For this purpose, an UHPLC-MS/MS-based platform was developed at the University of Milano-Bicocca to support law-enforcement authorities. Software was designed to easily manage street seizure acquisition, documentation registration, and sampling. A sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS method was fully validated for the quantification of the traditional illicit substances (cocaine, heroin, 6-MAM, morphine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, ketamine, GHB, GBL, LSD, trans-∆9-THC, and THCA) at the ppb level. The final report is relayed to the Prefecture in 3–4 days, even within 24 h for urgent requests. The platform allows for semi-automatic data handling to minimize erroneous results for an accurate report generation by standardized procedures.

Details

Database :
OAIster
Notes :
ELETTRONICO, English
Publication Type :
Electronic Resource
Accession number :
edsoai.on1376721892
Document Type :
Electronic Resource