Identification of LSD by AccuTOFTM LC/Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
Introduction
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a psychoactive drug with a long history of abuse. It is one of the most difficult drugs of abuse to detect in urine since the parent drug is excreted at very low concentration. Less than 1% of the ingested LSD dose is eliminated unchanged [1]. Analysis is further complicated because the isomeric compound iso-LSD, N-n-propylamide (LAMPA), which is itself a controlled drug, has a virtually identical mass spectrum [2]. Several GC/MS or GC/MS/MS methods have been developed for confirmation of LSD in urine, but a tedious and unstable derivatization procedure is required. The use of LC/MS for the analysis of LSD does not require derivatization of the analytes, thus simplifying the procedure. This application note demonstrates the feasibility by using the AccuTOF™ LC/MS for identification of LSD and related compounds. Additional method development and validation may be required for routine analysis.
Experimental
The system included a JEOL AccuTOF™ time-of-flight mass spectrometry system and an Agilent 1100 HPLC. All instruments were controlled by a JEOL MassCenter™. All solvents used were of HPLC grade. The standard solutions were purchased from Cerilliant (Round Rock, TX) and further diluted with mobile phase A. The HPLC and MS conditions are listed in Table 1.