Determination of amphetamine and methylenedioxy-amphetamine-derivatives in hair

Two GC/MS-procedures for the detection of amphetamine and its methylenedioxy-derivatives (MDA, MDMA and MDE) in hair are presented. In these methods a methanol sonication extraction technique was applied. The extracted drugs were derivatized either with propionic acid anhydride (PSA) or trifluoroacetic acid anhydride (TFA). PSA-derivatives are more stable than TFA-derivatives, but the latter provide more specific mass-spectrometric information, and, therefore, seem to be preferable for amphetamine determination. The detection limit for all compounds was in a range of about 0.01 ng/mg, if at least 50-100 mg of hair were analyzed, independent of the derivatization used. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.