35-10/Clark.../Development of a Gas Chromatographic

Published: Journal of Chromatographic Science, Volume 35, Number 10, November 1997, pp. 461–466.

Development of a Gas Chromatographic–Mass Spectrometric Drug Screening Method for the N-Dealkylated Metabolites of Fentanyl, Sufentanil, and Alfentanil
A.K. Valaer, T. Huber, S.V. Andurkar, C.R. Clark, and J. DeRuiter

A sensitive, specific urinary assay for fentanyl, sufentanil, and alfentanil based on their N-dealkylated metabolites is described. Norfentanyl, norsufentanil–noralfentanil, and ²H₅-norfentanyl are synthesized and characterized by standard analytical techniques. Derivatization of these secondary amines to yield the pentafluorobenzamides produces stable products with good gas chromatographic properties and unique, high-mass fragments in their mass spectra. These properties are utilized to develop a drug screening procedure based on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to detect these major metabolites in human urine. The metabolites are isolated from urine samples by a liquid–liquid extraction procedure. The method allows for detection of metabolite concentrations as low as 0.3 ng/mL.

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