Sensitive and selective determination of methylenedioxylated amphetamines by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection

A rapid, sensitive and selective liquid chromatographic method with fluorimetric detection was developed for the separation and quantification of four methylenedioxylated amphetamines without interference of other drugs of abuse and common substances found in illicit tablets. The method was validated by examining linearity, precision and accuracy as well as detection and quantification limits. Methylenedioxylated amphetamines were quantified in eight tablets from illicit drug seizures and results were quantitatively compared to HPLC-W analyses. To demonstrate the better sensitivity of the fluorimetric detection, methylenedioxylated amphetamines were analyzed in serum after a liquid-liquid extraction procedure and results were also compared to HPLC-UV analyses. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.