Cloned enzyme donor immunoassay (CEDIA) for drugs-of-abuse screening

Large numbers of specimens (5000-18,000) were screened for amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, marijuana, opiates, and phencyclidine by RIA (Roche), Emit II (Syva), and a new immunoassay, CEDIA (cloned enzyme donor immunoassay, Microgenics). All immunoassays performed equivalently for cocaine, opiates, and phencyclidine. All immunoassays detected the same amphetamine/methamphetamine-positive specimens, but all also detected numerous specimens containing cross-reacting sympathomimetic amines. CEDIA detected 100%, Emit II 93%, and RIA 82% of the barbiturate-positive specimens. Emit II and CEDIA detected 86-88% of the specimens found by RIA to be marijuana positive. A subset of specimens was additionally screened by OnLine (Roche) and TDx (Abbott) for amphetamines, cocaine, and marijuana. OnLine and TDx also detected all of the amphetamine-positive specimens and numerous specimens containing cross-reacting sympathomimetic amines. All immunoassays performed equivalently for cocaine, and the four nonisotopic tests detected 86-89% of the marijuana positives found by RIA. Interfering sympathomimetic amine drug compounds can be eliminated by using an oxidizing agent, thus decreasing the number of unconfirmable amphetamine presumptive positives. The CEDIAs for all of the major drugs of abuse are reliable and effective for large-volume urine screening programs.

Separation and Characterization of Amine Drugs and Their Enantiomers by Capillary Column Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

A gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer-data system equipped with a capillary column is used to analyze commonly abused amine drug mixtures. Enantiomeric amines are analyzed as N-trifluoroacetyl- I-prolyl chloride derivatives. The 10 compounds included in this study are amphetamine, methamphetamine, norephedrine, ephedrine, 3,-4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, N,N-diethyltryptamine, N,N-dimethyl-5-methoxytryptamine, mescaline, and caffeine. All compounds, including possible enantiomers, are resolved and identified by the described method.