Single-hair analysis of zolpidem on the supposition of its single administration in drug-facilitated crimes

Little information is available on the amounts of hypnotics incorporated into hair after a single administration and about effective analytical procedures to document cases like drug-facilitated sexual assaults. To obtain basic information, single-hair specimens from a volunteer who took a single do...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forensic toxicology 2015-01, Vol.33 (1), p.122-130
Main Authors: Shima, Noriaki, Sasaki, Keiko, Kamata, Tooru, Matsuta, Shuntaro, Katagi, Munehiro, Miki, Akihiro, Zaitsu, Kei, Sato, Takako, Nakanishi, Toyofumi, Tsuchihashi, Hitoshi, Suzuki, Koichi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Forensic Medicine
Forensic Science
Medical Law
Medicinal Chemistry
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original Article
Pharmacology/Toxicology
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Summary:Little information is available on the amounts of hypnotics incorporated into hair after a single administration and about effective analytical procedures to document cases like drug-facilitated sexual assaults. To obtain basic information, single-hair specimens from a volunteer who took a single dose of 10-mg zolpidem (ZP) were analyzed by a newly established liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry procedure, using a one-pot pulverization extraction method. The detection limit of ZP was 50 fg/2-cm single hair, and ZP in each segment was determined for the single black hair specimens ( n  = 15). ZP was detectable in 14 hairs (positive for all the proximal 0–2 cm segments, negative for all 2–4 cm segments), but was not detected in a single hair (probably in the telogen stage). The amounts of ZP detected in each positive 2-cm segment of single hair ranged from 27 to 63 pg (average 43 pg). The estimated total incorporation of ZP in the scalp hair (black hair ~110,000 strands) was about 4.7 μg, which corresponds to about 0.06 % of the single 10-mg dose (8.03 mg as free ZP). In addition, the direct detection of single-dose ZP incorporated in hair and its imaging were successfully achieved by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry. It is suggested that a combination of these methodologies will provide the highest-level evidence to document such exposure to a hypnotic drug.
ISSN:1860-8965
1860-8973
DOI:10.1007/s11419-014-0260-7