Solid phase microextraction with liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry for analysis of amphetamine and methamphetamine in serum

This investigation evaluates solid phase microextraction (SPME) combined with liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) to determine trace levels of amphetamine (AM) and methamphetamine (MA) in serum. Chromatography was performed on a C18 reversed-phase column using a linear gradient of acetonitrile-water as a mobile phase. Using sample extraction by SPME at optimum conditions, analytes were desorbed with static desorption in SPME-HPLC desorption chamber for 1 min and then determined with LC-ESI-MS/MS. The detection limits for amphetamine and methamphetamine in serum were 0.3 μg/L and 0.04 μg/L, respectively. According to the analysis, the linearity range is from 0.5 μg/L to 200 μg/L with R.S.D. values below 8%. The feasibility of applying the methods to determine amphetamine and methamphetamine in real samples was examined by analyzing serum samples from methamphetamine abused suspects.