Determination of cocaine and cocaethylene in plasma by solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

The present paper describes a method for the simultaneous determination of cocaine and cocaethylene in plasma. It was based in the extraction of the analytes by solid-phase microextraction (SPME), and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used to identify and quantify the analytes in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The method showed to be very simple, rapid and sensitive. The method was validated for the two compounds, including linearity (range 25–1000 ng/mL) and the main precision parameters. It was applied to ten plasma samples from cocaine and alcohol users, obtaining positive results in all cases.