Comunicação apresentada no 13º Encontro Nacional de Cromatografia, 2023According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), approximately 1.3
million individuals have used opiates, both for medical and illicit purposes1, presenting a significant public
health challenge2,3. To address this issue, methods for quantifying these substances are needed. Urine is a
commonly employed matrix in clinical and forensic toxicological analyses due to its ease of collection and
ample availability. Its short detection window is particularly effective for monitoring recent drug exposure4,5.
This study aimed to optimize a method for determining tramadol, codeine, morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, 6-
acetylcodeine, and fentanyl in urine samples (250 μL). The process involved centrifugation, acid hydrolysis,
and extraction using microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS). MEPS offered a rapid, environmentally
friendly, and reusable extraction technique6. All parameters that influence the extraction were previously
optimized. The method was validated following international guidelines, demonstrating excellent linearity [1
to 1000 ng/mL for all compounds, except for fentanyl (10 to 1000 ng/mL), with coefficients of determination
of at least 0.99], and presenting coefficients of variation and bias ≤ 15% for precision and accuracy, except for
the lowest calibrator (≤ 20%).
Recoveries obtained ranged from 17 to 107%, with lowest percentages for morphine (12 to 17%). Despite the
low extraction efficiency obtained for morphine, it was possible to detect concentrations as low as 1 ng/mL
for all compounds, except for fentanyl (10 ng/mL). The method was successfully applied to real samples from
consumers of these substances.
This is the first method to use MEPS and GC-MS/MS for the simultaneous determination of these six opioids
in urine samples.N/
