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Published:
Journal of Analytical Toxicology,
ISSN 0146-4760,
Volume 27, Number 2, March 2003,
pp. 118-122
CASE REPORT: Simultaneous Determination of Carisoprodol
and Acetaminophen in an Attempted Suicide by Liquid Chromatography–Mass
Spectrometry with Positive Electrospray Ionization
Tomohiro Matsumoto[1], Toshiyuki Sano[1], Toshiyasu
Matsuoka[1], Minoru Aoki[1],
Yoshitaka Maeno[2], and Masataka Nagao[2]
[1]Criminal Investigation Laboratory, Aichi Prefectural Police Hdqrs., 1-1 Sannomaru
2-chome, Naka-ku, Nagoya 460-8502, Japan and
[2]Department of Forensic Medical
Science, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1 Kawasumi,
Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467-0001, Japan
An adult female ingested a considerable
quantity of carisoprodol/acetaminophen tablets, which are not commercially available
in Japan, in an attempt to commit suicide. Generally, because of lack of the appreciable
ultraviolet absorbance or fluorescence, carisoprodol and its major metabolite
meprobamate are determined by gas chromatography or gas chromatography–mass
spectrometry. Complicated derivatization is, however, necessary to that methodology.
Thus, we investigated the derivatization-free, highly sensitive, and simultaneous
determination of carisoprodol, meprobamate, and acetaminophen by means of liquid
chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) with positive electrospray
ionization. A semi-micro ODS column was used. Ammonium acetate solution (10mM)
and acetonitrile were used as mobile phase at a flow rate of 150 µL/min
using gradient elution. MS parameters were as follows: capillary voltage, 3.5
kV; cone voltage, +30 V; extractor voltage, 5 kV; and ion source temperature,
100°C. Urine samples pretreated by Oasis™ HLB cartridge, or plasma
samples deproteinized by adding ice-cold acetonitrile were analyzed by LC–MS.
The limits of quantitation for each compound were as follows: 0.50 ng/mL for
carisoprodol; 10 ng/mL for acetaminophen; and 1.0 ng/mL for meprobamate. In the
present case, carisoprodol and acetaminophen were the only drugs detected. Meprobamate
was also found as the metabolite of carisoprodol in both urine and plasma. The
plasma levels of carisoprodol, acetaminophen, and meprobamate on arrival were
29.5, 245, and 46.7 µg/mL, respectively. These levels were extremely high
compared with therapeutic plasma concentrations. Despite the high plasma concentrations
of these drugs, which correspond to fatal levels, the patient survived. Reproduction
of editorial content of this journal is prohibited without publisher’s
permission.
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