Deposition Characteristics of Methamphetamine and Amphetamine in Fingernail Clippings and Hair Sections

Abstract

Fingernail clippings collected from 97 consenting females, who admitted amphetamines and/or opiates use and are currently under treatment, were quantitatively analyzed for the presence of methamphetamine and amphetamine. Sixty-two subjects were found positive for methamphetamine/amphetamine. Paired nail-hair specimens were collected from 6 of these subjects for a 12-week period and analyzed to determine the duration of detectability and deposition characteristics of amphetamines in fingernails; whether data derived from the analysis of nail clippings and hair sections are reflective of drug use patterns; and whether there is a relationship between the analytical data derived from the paired nail-hair specimens. Typical sample pre-treatment procedures and GC-MS protocols were evaluated to establish the validity of various analytical parameters and to ensure that the resulting data can be properly interpreted. Major findings include 1. Methamphetamine was found in the nails of 62 subjects collected in Week 0. The distribution of methamphetamine concentrations (ng/mg) in these nail samples are range, 0.46-61.50; mean, 9.96; and standard deviation: 13.33. The corresponding data for amphetamine are < 0.20-5.42, 0.93, and 1.01, respectively. 2. Sectional analyses of hair samples collected from 6 subjects in Week 0 show methamphetamine concentrations peak at different distances from the root. 3. The concentrations of methamphetamine and amphetamine in nail clippings are generally lower than the first 1.5-cm section of hair samples collected at the same time from the same individual. 4. Amphetamine/ methamphetamine concentration ratios in nail clippings and hair samples are comparable. 5. Methamphetamine concentration in the nail clippings collected at Weeks 0, 4, 8, and 12 decreases in a pattern similar to that exhibited by the first 1.5-cm sections of the hair samples collected at the same time.

Exposures associated with clandestine methamphetamine drug laboratories in Australia

“…Few studies are available that specifically address the use of nails as an analytical media for the detection of drugs (188). The available studies indicate that fingernail and toenail clippings have been found as reliable as hair for the detection of methamphetamine and amphetamine in users, as these drugs are well accumulated in the nail matrix, stable in the nail, retained for a long period of time, show a good correlation with hair concentrations (174,188,189).…”

“…The available studies indicate that fingernail and toenail clippings have been found as reliable as hair for the detection of methamphetamine and amphetamine in users, as these drugs are well accumulated in the nail matrix, stable in the nail, retained for a long period of time, show a good correlation with hair concentrations (174,188,189). The mechanism of deposition at the nail matrix is complex (188,189), hence analysis of nails are considered to be a less reliable indicator of temporal trends than hair. However, analysis of nails may provide an alternate method of evaluating environmental exposures to methamphetamine.…”

Merging Wildlife and Environmental Monitoring Approaches with Forensic Principles: Application of Unconventional and Non-Invasive Sampling in Eco- Pharmacovigilance

“…For this reason, compounds that incorporate into hair can be detected in this sample well after they would cease to be detected in tissue, plasma and urine [115,123,127,128]. This is shown in Table 1, which summarizes (in increasing order), the timeframe of detection for drugs of abuse in selected human sample matrices.…”

“…Powder feathers, which grow continuously and are never molted [159], should also be investigated as potentially suitable for detecting compounds of concern. [231] b Houston [166] c Whittem et al [232] d Popot et al [140] e Tracey et al [233] f Gaillard et al [131] g Gunaratram and Wilkinson [137] h Sachs and Raff [234] i Wennig [235] j Lin et al [128] The use of any veterinary agent to augment body mass, or whose consumption poses a risk to human health (e.g., anabolic steroids, β-agonists and nitrofuran antibiotics) must be carefully monitored [168,169]. Poultry feathers are routinely monitored as part of human food safety testing procedures.…”

Evaluation of drug incorporation into hair segments and nails by enantiomeric analysis following controlled single MDMA intakes

“…Investigations on paired hair and nail analysis for amphetamines delineated similar [16] or higher concentrations in hair [17], but one group reported slightly higher amphetamine concentrations in fingernails compared to hair [18].…”