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Chemiluminescence detection of MDMA in street drug samples using tris (2,2'-bipyridine) ruthenium (III)

journal contribution
posted on 2015-05-01, 00:00 authored by Ashton Theakstone, Zoe SmithZoe Smith, Jessica Terry, Neil BarnettNeil Barnett, Paul FrancisPaul Francis
Tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence was investigated for the detection of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and several related compounds in street drug samples. Optimization using flow injection analysis showed that the selectivity of the reagent can be targeted towards the detection of secondary amines by altering the pH of the reaction environment. The greater selectivity of this mode of detection, compared to UV-absorbance, reduces the probability of false positive results from interfering compounds. The detection limit for MDMA under these conditions was 0.48 μM. A HPLC method incorporating post-column tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence detection was applied to the determination of MDMA in five street drug samples. The results obtained were in good agreement with quantification performed using traditional UV-absorbance detection, which demonstrates the viability of this method for confirmatory analysis of drug samples. This is the first report of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence for the detection of MDMA and related amphetamine derivatives.

History

Journal

Drug testing and analysis

Volume

7

Issue

5

Pagination

428 - 432

Publisher

Wiley

Location

London, Eng.

ISSN

1942-7611

eISSN

1942-7611

Language

eng

Publication classification

C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2015, Wiley