New GC-MS Assay for MDA and MDMA

3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and 3,4-methylenedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA) are central nervous system stimulant/hallucinogens and schedule I controlled substances at the federal level. The analysis of these drugs in crime labs represents about 0.5% of all drug exhibits in the US. Confirmatory and quantitative analysis is typically performed by gas chromatographic (GC) analysis. The highly polar nature of the drugs in both the salt and free base forms cause strong interactions with surfaces such as the inlet and stationary phase in the GC; these interactions are problematic, especially for quantitation. Our laboratory recently developed a method to attenuate this surface interaction that resulted in improved chromatographic behavior and detector response by mass spectrometry (MS). We have established that derivatization of the basic nitrogen with alkanoic anhydrides enhances the sensitivity of the assay significantly