UCT Presentation at STFA Congres (Chambery, France, September 18-21)

UCT is well known and highly regarded around the world for its experience in producing the finest Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) sorbents for the Forensic/Clinical Toxicology and Environmental communities, as well as our line of Petrarch Chemicals (including dertivatizing reagents). In the field of Forensic Toxicology, there is no finer performing SPE column than UCT's flag ship sorbent Clean Screen DAU for the extraction of a diverse range of forensically significant drugs from a wide variety of biological matrices.

At this years Annual Congres of the Societe Francais Toxicologique et Analytique (SFTA) held in Chambery, France, UCT scientist Dr.Jeff Hackett will be presenting some recent research involving the extraction and analysis of Amphetamines (Amphetamine, Methamphetamine, MDA, MDMA) from Hair samples. The research (carried out in collaboration with a major State Crime Laboratory) demonstrates the ability to produce highly reproducible samples, with high recovery values and low matrix effects (at very low concentrations) using small amounts of sample (approx. 10 mg). The use of the Clean Screen DAU in this analysis shows why this is the first choice SPE sorbent for analysts in facilities around the world for drug testing.

UCT Poster Presentation at SOFT 2012

Hair analysis for the presence of illicit drugs is becoming one of the most challenging types of forensic toxicological analysis. At this years SOFT meeting, Dr. Jeff Hackett will be presenting the results of a collaborative project involving Amphetamines and Synthetic Cathinones in hair samples (Poster P03). In this work, UCT's flagship sorbent Clean Screen DAU (CSDAU206) was employed to produce a highly efficient validated methodology for the simultaneous extraction of 4 Amphetamines (Amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDA, and  MDMA) and 9 Synthetic Cathinones (Butylone, ethylone, flephedrone, mephedrone, methylone, methedrone, methcathinone (4-MEC), methylenedioxypyravalerone (MDPV) and pyravalerone) from 10 mg samples of hair. This new methodology which involves a short base digestion time followed by SPE and LC-MS/MS permits limits of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.05 ng/ mg, and detection(LOD) of 0.1 ng/ mg of sample to be achieved with excellent recoveries (greater than 95%) and minimal matrix effects (less than 6%). This newer methodology demonstrates the strength of the DAU sorbent in the analysis of not only familiar drugs but new and novel ones as well.