The study of metabolite-to-parent drug ratios of methamphetamine and methylenedioxymethamphetamine in hair

The metabolite-to-parent drug ratios were determined in the hair of 2444 methamphetamine (MA) abusers who had produced MA-positive hair results from 2001 to May 2005 and in the hair of 53 ecstasy abusers who had produced positive methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) hair results from 2002 to May 2005. For the hair analyses, hair strands were washed, cut into small pieces and extracted for 20 h in 1 mL methanol containing 1% HCl. Drugs in the extract were determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) using selective ion monitoring after derivatization with trifluoroacetic anhydride. The six range groups were divided as follows on the basis of MA concentrations in hair ( n = 2389): 0.5–5 ng/mg ( n = 950), 5–10 ng/mg ( n = 582), 10–20 ng/mg ( n = 503), 20–30 ng/mg ( n = 160), 30–40 ng/mg ( n = 80), more than 40 ng/mg ( n = 114) to assess the correlations between MA concentrations and metabolite-to-parent drug ratios. In groups of higher MA concentrations, lower ratios of AP/MA were found, and there was a statistically significant difference among six range groups. Comparisons of age groups (tens, twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, and sixties) and male and female subjects for the ratios of AP/MA showed a statistically significant difference. The detection of metabolites and the parent drug with reasonable ratios was found to be a useful indicator for distinguishing internal drug incorporation from external contamination. In our study, MA users can produce 0.4–116% (mean = 9%) of amphetamine (AP) concentrations in hair, and ecstasy users 1–110% (mean = 12%) of methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) in appropriately washed hair samples.