Teaching Experimental Design Using a GC-MS Analysis of Cocaine on Money: A Cross-Disciplinary Laboratory

Heimbuck, Christopher A.; Bower, Nathan W.

doi:10.1021/ed079p1254

Cited by 23 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…A capillary electrophoretic method for the separation of cocaine and its stereoisomers was developed (496). A laboratory activity that teaches experimental design using GC/MS analysis of cocaine in money has been described (497). Analysis of banknotes via counting machines detected cocaine (498).…”

Section: Drugs and Poisonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forensic Science

Brettell¹,

Butler

Saferstein³

2005

Anal. Chem.

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Section: Drugs and Poisonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forensic Science

Brettell¹,

Butler

Saferstein³

2005

Anal. Chem.

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“…Contamination can occur through events that bring banknotes into direct contact with bulk drugs (primary transfer) or surfaces bearing traces of drugs (secondary transfer). Although a significant proportion of banknotes worldwide has been found to be contaminated with cocaine,8 the occurrence of other controlled substances, specifically DAM, has been shown to be comparatively rare 9–11. Deposits of DAM do not appear to transfer readily between banknotes11, 12 and DAM is known to degrade rapidly in the presence of moisture 13.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid comparison of diacetylmorphine on banknotes by tandem mass spectrometry

Ebejer

Brereton

Carter

et al. 2005

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

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A procedure is described for the determination of the distribution of the contamination of banknotes with controlled drugs using tandem mass spectrometry. The method is illustrated using diacetylmorphine, which is the major active component of heroin. A series of banknotes is introduced into the mass spectrometer and the intensities of two product ions (m/z 328 and 268) derived from the precursor protonated molecule (m/z 370) are recorded. A banknote is considered contaminated if it shows a significant peak for both product ions, and if the ratio of intensities of these two peaks falls within accepted limits. The distribution of diacetylmorphine on sterling banknotes taken from general circulation within the UK can be modelled by an arcsin (square root) transformation of the data or by a log transformation of the data with a higher proportion of contamination. The two models were found to be in close agreement, predicting an upper limit (at 99.9% confidence) of contamination on banknotes from general circulation between 9 and 10%. The percentage contamination in a case study was calculated and compared to the background distribution using the two models proposed. This comparison revealed that the contamination present in the case study was inconsistent with that present on banknotes in general circulation. Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Heroin comprises a complex mixture of alkaloids resulting from the acetylation of latex obtained from the unripe capsules of Papaver somniferum.1 The names 'heroin', 'diamorphine' and 'diacetylmorphine' (DAM) are often used interchangeably, but we here use DAM to describe the specific compound which is the major active and most characteristic constituent of illicit heroin. DAM is stringently controlled (class A in the UK) according to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and subsequent legislation. 2 Alongside DAM, the drugs cocaine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA or 'ecstasy'), and cannabis, are reported to be the controlled substances most commonly implicated in drug-related crime.3 Individuals involved in drug-trafficking are not necessarily in personal possession of the drugs, and it is advantageous to establish an association with drugs through items in their possession, especially large quantities of cash which may be seized in accordance with the Drug Trafficking In this paper, experimental details of the technique are given and a case study is presented in which banknotes seized in London (UK) were submitted for analysis on suspicion of association with heroin. The pattern of contamination with DAM was compared to an extensive background database, which was considered to be representative of banknotes in general circulation within the UK. EXPERIMENTAL InstrumentationData were acquired using an API 365 triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer (MDS Sciex, Concord, Ontario, Canada), employing a custom-built thermal desorption inlet (Fig. 1).An ambient airflow (regulated at approximately 25 L/min) through the transfer line was achieved by maintaining a slightly reduce...

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“…Methanol was used in three similar studies conducted on euro banknotes [8][9][10]. Dilute acids have also been used to extract cocaine from banknotes, for example, hydrochloric acid for the extraction of the drug from US dollars [11,12] and acetic acid in a study on Chinese banknotes [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Capillary Electrophoresis with UV Detection to Determine Cocaine on Circulated Banknotes

Heller

Vitali

Siqueira

et al. 2013

ISRN Analytical Chemistry

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A new methodology employing capillary electrophoresis with UV detection (CE-UV) was developed, validated, and applied to determine the presence of cocaine on Brazilian banknotes. Some of the banknotes analyzed were obtained directly from general circulation (well used) while others were collected from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) (relatively new). The background electrolyte optimized using Peakmaster 5.1 software was composed of 60 mmol L−1 TRIS(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane and 20 mmol L−1 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid, at pH 8.4. The separation time achieved for cocaine was only 2.5 minutes. The figures of merit obtained in the evaluation of the proposed method were good linearity (r>0.999) in the concentration range of 0.8–8.0 mg L−1 and acceptable limits of detection and quantification (0.2 mg L−1 and 0.8 mg L−1, resp.). The relative standard deviations of the instrumental precision, repeatability (intraday), and intermediate precision (interday) were less than 4.5% (peak area). The accuracy evaluated through comparing the cocaine results for the banknotes determined by the proposed CE-UV method and using an LC-MS/MS method showed no significant difference between the methods (95% confidence level). In the analysis of the samples cocaine was detected on 93% of the circulating banknotes in amounts ranging from 11.5 μg to 2761.9 μg per note.

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Teaching Experimental Design Using a GC-MS Analysis of Cocaine on Money: A Cross-Disciplinary Laboratory

Cited by 23 publications

References 9 publications

Forensic Science

Forensic Science

Rapid comparison of diacetylmorphine on banknotes by tandem mass spectrometry

Capillary Electrophoresis with UV Detection to Determine Cocaine on Circulated Banknotes

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