Trace Elemental Analysis of Drugs of Abuse Using Synchrotron Radiation Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis (SR-TXRF)

Abstract

Synchrotron radiation total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (SR-TXRF) was utilized to analyze various trace elements in small amounts of drugs of abuse. Sample amounts of 1 L solutions containing 10 g of drugs (methamphetamine, amphetamine, 3,4-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin) were spotted on silicon wafers for direct analysis. In addition, a leaflet of marijuana was set directly on a silicon wafer, and opium in the form of a soft lump was smeared on another silicon wafer for analysis. In these experiments, about 10 pg of contaminant elements could be detected. For example, in a seized methamphetamine sample, iodine was found, which could be indicative of syn-thetic route. In seized 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine samples, variable amounts of phosphorus, calcium, sulfur, and potassium were found, which could not be detected in a control 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine sample. For marijuana and opium, two spectral patterns were ob-tained that were far different from each other and could be easily discriminated. Using SR-TXRF, pg amounts of each trace element in 10 g of var-ious drugs can be easily detected, which is not the case either for a standard TXRF experimental system or for other elemental analysis techniques.

X‐Ray Fluorescence in Forensic ScienceUpdate based on the original article by Claude Roux and Chris Lennard,Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry, © 2000, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

“…0.01 ng of Sc, Cr, Co, and Zn) can be detected, providing useful information for tracing smuggling routes or clandestine laboratories. (95,96) …”

Graphite furnace atomic absorption elemental analysis of ecstasy tablets

“…inductively couple plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) for MDMA [10][11][12], methamphetamine [4,13] and heroin [14]; ion chromatography (IC) for methamphetamine [13]; total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis (TXRF) for methamphetamines [15]; synchrotron radiation total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis (SR-TXRF) for a range of drugs of abuse [16]; electrochemical methods for ecstasy [17].…”

Minimization of Sample Volume with Air-segmented Sample Injection and the Simultaneous Determination of Trace Elements by ICP-MS

“…For analyzing inorganic impurities, neutron activation analysis (NAA), 4,5 atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) 6 and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) 7 have been widely used. Recently, synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (SR-XRF) 8,9 was used for small-volume samples, but its operation needsaspecificlicenseandlargefacilities.Inductivelycoupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) 10,11 is one of the most powerful tools for the determination of trace and ultra-trace metals. However, it is sometimes very difficult to measure samples by using conventional/ICP-MS, because the volume of forensic samples is often very small (<1 ml) and the concentration is at the trace level.…”