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A liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) method for the simultaneous identification and quantification of 28 benzodiazepines, including 6 metabolites, in 50 mg of hair has been validated. Positive ion electrospray ionization and HRMS determination in full-scan mode were realized on an Orbitrap mass spectrometer at a nominal resolving power of 60,000. In-source collisional experiments were conducted to obtain additional information for a more reliable identification of the investigated drugs. HRMS in full-scan mode allowed the exact determination of molecular masses of all analytes eluting in the HPLC run, so that both the immediate and retrospective screening of results for drugs and their metabolites were available. Sample preparation consisted of an overnight incubation in phosphate buffer pH 8.4 and a subsequent liquid/liquid extraction with methylene chloride/diethyl ether (90:10). Gradient elution was performed on a Luna C18 analytical column and four deuterated analogues were used as internal standards (IS). Validation was performed using both spiked hair samples and hair samples from subjects treated with benzodiazepines. Selectivity was evaluated by analysis of 20 certified blank hair samples. Extraction efficiency and matrix effects were evaluated by analysis of true positive samples. The lowest limits of quantification (LLOQs) ranged from 1 to 10 pg/mg. Linearity was investigated in the range from LLOQ to 1,000 pg/mg, for each compound (R(2) 0.998-0.999). Mean relative errors, calculated at three concentration levels, ranged from 1 to 20% (absolute value). Precision, at concentrations higher than the LLOQs, was always less than 15% expressed as percentage relative standard deviation. After validation, the procedure was applied to real samples collected for clinical and forensic toxicology purposes from subjects who were assumed to have taken benzodiazepines.

The self-assembling of the proper subunits of fluorescence chemosensors within surfactant aggregates in water allows the easy design, realization, and testing of new effective sensing systems. It was shown that a proper ligand and a fluorescent dye, once transferred from bulk water into an inert surfactant aggregate, are kept in such a close proximity that communication between the binding site and the signaling unit effectively occurs, thus avoiding the need for a covalent connection between the sensor's two units. To further simplify the sensing system and get rid of the inert surfactant which somehow implies the dilution of the sensor's active components in the aggregate, we have synthesized a series of lipophilic ligands for Cu(II) based on dipeptides GlyLys and GlyGlu functionalized with n-alkyl chains of different lengths at the N-terminus. These ligands are soluble in water and can form homoaggregates in the absence and in the presence of Cu(II) ions. Lipophilic fluorophores, like 8-anilino-naphthalensulfonic acid or Rhodamine 6G, are effectively bound into the aggregate pseudophase, and the binding of Cu(II) ions to the dipeptide units causes a strong fluorescence quenching. The sensor system is very sensitive to Cu(II) (concentrations in the submicromolar range are detected), is promptly reversible, and no interference is observed due to the presence of many metal ions. The sensitivity of the systems improves by decreasing the ligand concentration and (up to a point) the ligand's cmc.