Quantification of selected synthetic cannabinoids and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in oral fluid by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

•We develop an LC–MS/MS method for synthetic cannabinoids quantification in oral fluid.•The method was validated according to international guidelines.•The method was applied to real samples collected from Spanish drivers.•Results did not revealed consumption of these emerging drugs in our country.

An LC–MS/MS method for the quantification of the synthetic cannabinoids JWH-200, JWH-250, JWH-073, JWH-018, HU-211, CP 47,497 and CP 47,497-C8, and THC in oral fluid was developed and validated. Samples (0.5 mL) were extracted using Strata X cartridges (Phenomenex). Chromatographic separation was achieved with a Sunfire™ IS column (20 × 2.1 mm, 3.5 μm) (Waters Corp.), with formic acid 0.1% and acetonitrile as mobile phase. A different chromatographic gradient was applied for the separation of the analytes depending on the ionization mode employed, with a total chromatographic run of 14 min. Detection was performed in a Quattro Micro™ API ESCI (Waters Corp.), using electrospray in the positive mode (ESI+) for JWH-200, JWH-250, JWH-073, JWH-018 and THC, and ESI- for HU-211, CP 47,497, and CP 47,497-C8. Validation of the method included the assessment of selectivity, linearity (0.1–2.5 to 200 ng/mL), limits of detection (0.025–1 ng/mL) and quantification (0.1–2.5 ng/mL), imprecision (%CV ≤ 14.4%), accuracy (91.8–109.7% of target concentration), extraction recovery (65.4–105.6%) and Quantisal recovery (56.1–66.7%), and matrix effect (neat oral fluid: −56.0% to 38.5%; oral fluid in Quantisal buffer: −15.1% to −71.7%). The application of this method to oral fluid samples from roadside testing will provide unique information on the use of these new synthetic drugs by Spanish drivers.