Quantitative analysis of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in preserved oral fluid by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive method for the analysis of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in preserved oral fluid was developed and fully validated. Oral fluid was collected with the Intercept, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved sampling device that is used on a large scale in the U.S. for workplace drug testing. The method comprised a simple liquid-liquid extraction with hexane, followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) analysis. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a XTerra MS C-18 column, eluted isocratically with 1 mM ammonium formate-methanol (10:90, v/v). Selectivity of the method was achieved by a combination of retention time, and two precursor-product ion transitions. The use of the liquid-liquid extraction was demonstrated to be highly effective and led to significant decreases in the interferences present in the matrix. Validation of the method was performed using both 100 and 500 mu L of oral fluid. The method was linear over the range investigated (0.5-100 ng/mL and 0.1-10 ng/mL when 100 and 500 mu L, respectively, of oral fluid were used) with an excellent intra-assay and inter-assay precision (relative standard deviations, RSD < 6%) for quality control samples spiked at a concentration of 2.5 and 25 ng/mL and 0.5 and 2.5 ng/mL, respectively. Limits of quantification were 0.5 and 0.1 ng/mL when using 100 and 500 mu L, respectively. In contrast to existing GC-MS methods, no extensive sample clean-up and time-consuming derivatisation steps were needed. The method was subsequently applied to Intercept samples collected at the roadside and collected during a controlled study with cannabis. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.