Agilent Comparison of Several LC/MS Techniques for Use in Toxicology Application Note

About this manual

The document presents a study comparing various liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) instruments used to analyze illicit and prescription drugs in postmortem and driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) blood samples. The analysis focuses on benzodiazepines, methadone, and cocaine metabolites.

The comparison evaluates five different mass spectrometer types: single quadrupole (SQ), time-of-flight (TOF), ion trap (IT), triple quadrupole (QQQ), and quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF). The study demonstrates that IT, TOF, and QTOF instruments are excellent for qualitative screening and identification, while SQ and QQQ instruments are superior for quantitative targeted confirmation.

What's inside

• Introduction
• Sample Preparation
• LC/MS Method Details
• Individual MS Conditions
• Acquisition Settings

Frequently asked questions

What volume of whole blood was used for each sample?

One mL of whole blood was used for each sample.

At what temperature was the column maintained during analysis?

The column temperature was set to 50 °C.

What flow rate was used for the liquid chromatography system?

The flow rate was 0.25 mL/min.