Analytical method development for detection and quantification of AMB-FUBINACA in mouse brain tissue using GC–MS/MS

Abstract

Background and objective

Identifying and quantifying the indazole-derived synthetic cannabinoid, AMB-FUBINACA, in mouse brain tissue is indeed possible. However, evaluating the extraction efficiency, validating the GC–MS/MS method, and demonstrating its effectiveness in real samples require detailed experimental data and expertise in analytical forensic toxicology.

Methodology

Male Swiss albino mice (n = 18) were divided into three groups: group 1, control (without administration of AMB-FUBINACA); group 2, orally gavaged with (5 mg/kg) of AMB-FUBINACA; and group 3, orally gavaged with (50 mg/kg) of AMB-FUBINACA. After 24 h, mice were sacrificed and decapitated. The brain tissue was collected, homogenized, and extracted using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with ethyl acetate as the extraction solvent. Finally, an analytical method for the analysis of samples using GC/CI-MS/MS was developed and validated.

Results

The results demonstrated the high efficiency of the employed method in extraction, detection, and quantification processes. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.5 ng/g and 1 ng/g, respectively. Analytical linearity was observed across a wide concentration range (1–1000 ng/mL), achieving a strong correlation coefficient (r²) of 0.99. The study also noted an absence of matrix interference at the retention times of all tested ions. The %RSD for intra-day precision varied from 1.28% to 7.51%, with an accuracy of −10.75 to −0.423, while the %RSD for inter-day precision was 2.31% to 4.4%, with an accuracy of −8 to −1.9%. The LLE approach yielded a recovery rate of 76%.

Conclusion

The results suggested implementing this analytical method in the forensic and clinical toxicology laboratories to identify and quantify the drug (AMB-FUBINACA) in brain samples. This will assist clinicians and pathologists treating AMB-FUBINACA intoxications in describing their results in the scientific literature, particularly in post-mortem forensic toxicology samples and future medical and forensic investigations.