Fast screening of illicit drugs in beverages and biological fluids by direct coupling of thin film microextraction to dielectric barrier discharge ionization-mass spectrometry

A direct and fast method for screening and quantification of illicit drugs in beverages and biologicalfluidswas developed by using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) as ionization technique, in combination withhigh-resolution mass spectrometry. Extraction of the targeted analytes was carried out with thinfilmmicroextraction (TFME) using ultrasound as agitation method. The targeted analytes were then thermallydesorbed and introduced into the source without the need for any cryofocusing apparatus. The perform-ance of this new analytical set up were compared to conventional TFME-TDU-GC/MS, showing enhancedlinear dynamic range and lower limits of quantitation (low pg ml−1) achievable at the same extraction con-ditions (5 min extraction time). The performance of the method was tested in different beverages andbodyfluids, confirming its applicability for quantitative analysis of the targeted drugs in complex samples.ISSN:0003-2654ISSN:1364-552