Major
Forensic Science
Anticipated Graduation Year
2025
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
Many controlled substances fall into the family of compounds known as amines. Analysis of these drugs in crime labs represents about 30% of all drug
exhibits in the US. Confirmatory and quantitative analysis is typically
performed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
The highly polar nature of the drugs causes strong interactions with surfaces
such as the inlet and stationary phase in the GC; these interactions are
problematic, especially for quantitation. Our laboratory has discovered that
improved chromatographic behavior and detector response can be achieved via
derivatization of the basic nitrogen with alkanoic anhydrides.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
James V. DeFrancesco, PhD
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Enhanced Quantitation of Amine Drug Derivatives by GC-MS Analysis
Many controlled substances fall into the family of compounds known as amines. Analysis of these drugs in crime labs represents about 30% of all drug
exhibits in the US. Confirmatory and quantitative analysis is typically
performed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
The highly polar nature of the drugs causes strong interactions with surfaces
such as the inlet and stationary phase in the GC; these interactions are
problematic, especially for quantitation. Our laboratory has discovered that
improved chromatographic behavior and detector response can be achieved via
derivatization of the basic nitrogen with alkanoic anhydrides.