Citation

Moeller MR, Doerr G, Warth S. J. Forensic Sci. 1992; 37(4): 969-983.

Affiliation

Institute of Legal Medicine, State University of Saarland, Homburg, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1324293

Abstract

A new procedure for the simultaneous detection of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its major metabolite, 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH) in serum has been evaluated. The method combines rapid, efficient, solid-phase extraction and simple derivatization by methylation. Analysis and quantitation is performed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) using deuterated cannabinoids as internal standards (IS). Reproducibility and sensitivity of the method are good. The procedure is applied to serum specimens collected from a smoking study with 24 volunteers and 212 forensic cases. Results are interpreted based upon the current knowledge about THC metabolism and pharmacokinetics.

Language: en