New ion trap mass spectrometer for rapid identification of suspected drug substances

[ China Instrument Network Instrument Development ] Recently, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Analysis Rapid Analysis and Testing Research Group (102 groups) Li Haiyang Researcher and Hou Keyong Researcher team cooperated with Yunnan Police Officer College, Drug Analysis and Anti-drug Technology Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Public Security to jointly develop a kind of The thermal analysis of acetone-assisted photoionization micro-ion trap mass spectrometer enables the rapid identification of suspected drug substances in complex matrices on the anti-drug site. The relevant research results are published in the full text of the journal Analyz Chem.

Photography: Wang Shuang

Drug smuggling and crime have long been a global concern. Although drug control is not the most fundamental way to solve drugs, it is currently the most effective and the most widely used method in the world. The premise of drug control is drug identification. With the intensification of the drug problem, new drugs are emerging, and the anti-drug situation is becoming more and more serious. Therefore, law enforcement agencies are urgently demanding rapid identification technology and equipment on the drug site.

The ion trap mass spectrometer uses acetone as an additive to increase the sensitivity of the instrument for drug detection and the accuracy of on-site quantification. The acetone molecule is first ionized to produce acetone reagent ions under the action of ultraviolet light, and then the ionization of the drug molecule is achieved by proton transfer reaction. The process achieves soft ionization of the drug sample while greatly improving the ionization efficiency, thereby improving the sensitivity of the instrument to drug detection. The parameters of the acetone reagent ion intensity adjustment instrument are stable and controllable. In the experiment, it is used as the quantitative internal standard, and the ratio of the peak intensity of the drug ion/acetone reagent ion is used as the quantitative standard, which expands the linear range of the quantitative analysis of the drug on the spot. The quantitative stability of the instrument.

Law enforcement officers often encounter some botanical drugs and suspected drug-containing beverages during the anti-drug process. These samples are complex in composition and often difficult to accurately identify the drug components. In response to this problem, researchers based on the mass spectrometer, proposed a temperature-resolved thermal analytical injection method, through the program temperature control, to ensure that each drug component is analytically detected at their respective optimal temperatures, successfully realized in a complex matrix. Effective detection of drug ingredients. The instrument can detect 27 drugs ranging from traditional drugs, new synthetic drugs, new psychoactive substances and hallucinogens. The detection limits of all drugs are on the order of nanograms, and the single sample analysis time is less than 2 seconds.

In the demonstration application stage, the ion trap mass spectrometer has repeatedly penetrated the Yunnan anti-drug line, and was carried out at the Dehong Prefecture Mukang Frontier Inspection Station, the Yuxi Qinglongchang Checkpoint, the Yuxi Public Security Bureau, the Tengchong Public Security Bureau, and the Baoshan Public Security Bureau. The field application has accumulated valuable experience for the research of ion trap mass spectrometry drug field detection technology and the improvement of instrument performance. The research was supported by the 12th Five-Year National Support Program, the National Natural Science Foundation, and the Institute's self-deployment fund. At the same time, this is also one of the articles celebrated on the 70th anniversary of the Institute.

(Original title: Our Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer has made new progress in the rapid detection of drugs in complex matrices)