1C-O1-1700 PDF
Application of imaging mass spectrometry to hair analysis for investigating drug use history
Hair is the most useful specimen to investigate drug use history. In this paper, the authors conducted MALDI-TOF-MS and MALDI-FTICR-MS in order to image drugs incorporated in hair. Hair specimens from volunteers who orally took methoxyphenamine (MOP) were lengthwise cut using a microtome and analyzed by these MALDI-MS methods. MOP-positive bands on the longitudinal sections of hair shafts were detected similarly by either of these both techniques. The ions corresponding to monoisotopic protonated MOP (m/z 180.138) and its isotopolog ion (m/z 181.142) were observed at a relevant ratio in MALDI-FTICR-MS imaging. Thus, localization of MOP incorporated in hair has successfully been visualized by MALDI-MS techniques. It is suggested that imaging MS offers a new perspective in the analyses of drugs in hair.