Determination of fentanyl and norfentanyl in cerumen in the setting of postmortem investigation.

Abstract

Cerumen is an emerging alternative biological matrix in the field of forensic toxicology. An ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry [UHPLC-MS/MS] method for the determination of fentanyl and norfentanyl in cerumen was developed and applied in a mixed drug toxicity fatal case. The method was found to be selective and sensitive (LOQ: 0.05 ng/mg for fentanyl and 0.02 ng/mg for norfentanyl), while validation included recovery, carryover, short-term stability, matrix effect, accuracy, and precision (RSD%). Accuracy ranged from 83.1% to 103.5%, while intra- and inter-day precision ranged from 8.6% to 13.1% and from 8.3% to 15.8%, respectively. Matrix effect experiments showed that matrix did not significantly affect signal intensity (82.3%-96.8%). Short-term stability concerning sample extracts was found satisfactory. Fentanyl and norfentanyl were detected in cerumen at a concentration of 1.17 and 0.36 ng/mg respectively. The findings in cerumen corroborate the cause of death and suggest that cerumen is a potential specimen for detecting drugs of abuse in forensic cases.

• Authors: Orthodoxia Mastrogianni, Dimitrios Phaedon Kevrekidis, Evdokia Brousa, Amvrosios Orfanidis, Heleni Zagelidou, Nikolaos Raikos
• Journal: Journal of forensic sciences (J Forensic Sci) Vol. 67 Issue 5 Pg. 2130-2137 (Sep 2022) ISSN: 1556-4029 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 35642729 (Publication Type: Case Reports)
• Copyright: © 2022 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Chemical References

• Analgesics, Opioid
• norfentanyl
• Fentanyl

Topics

• Analgesics, Opioid (analysis)
• Cerumen (chemistry)
• Fentanyl (analogs & derivatives, analysis)
• Forensic Toxicology (methods)
• Tandem Mass Spectrometry (methods)