OBJECTIVE: Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed for the determination of opiates in biological samples according to the emerging problem in drugs abuse. METHODS: Opiates such as heroin, 6-acetylmorphine, morphine, codeine, acetylcodeine, hydrocodone and hydromorphone were isolated from human blood, urine, oral fluid and hair using a simple extraction and consequently analyzed using LC-MS/MS. The method was evaluated by real cases. RESULTS: The mobile phase give the optimum separation for opiates. The detection limit of morphine in urine with dilution and liquid-liquid extraction and in hair is 10ng/mL, 0.01 ng/mL and 0.01 ng/mg, respectively. CONCLUSION The method is simple and rapid, offering superior sensitivity and selectivity for opiates. The target compounds comprising hydrocodone and hydromorphone enlarge the applied area.
Chromatography, Liquid ; Codeine/analysis* ; Forensic Medicine/methods* ; Hair/chemistry* ; Humans ; Hydrocodone/analysis* ; Hydromorphone/analysis* ; Morphine/analysis* ; Narcotics/analysis* ; Reproducibility of Results ; Saliva/chemistry* ; Substance Abuse Detection/methods* ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry