Determining Methamphetamine in Urine by Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Assisted Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

The usefulness of molecularly imprinted polymer assisted paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (MIP-PSI-MS) for the determination of methamphetamine in urine has been demonstrated.MIP-PSI-MS is a method in which a MIP is synthesized on the surface of a paper, producing a chemically selective paper surface with molecular recognition sites for a target analyte.The analyte is extracted by the MIP substrate, which is posteriorly used for conventional PSI-MS analysis.As methamphetamine is one of the most widely used drugs of abuse in the world, it was selected to be studied in synthetic urine by the MIP-PSI-MS method.Methamphetamine was detected at higher ion signals compared to other different drugs, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and cocaine, suggesting that MIP-PSI-MS has a chemical affinity for methamphetamine.In experiments to validate the method, a linear calibration curve was achieved with R-squared (R 2 ) > 0.99.Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were determined to be 0.8 and 2.8 µg L -1 , respectively.Precision (relative standard deviation) and accuracy (relative error) were less than 10%, and the recoveries were close to 100%.The matrix effect was below 10%.These data demonstrate the possibility of using MIP-PSI-MS as an analytical tool for a specific/ selective analysis of methamphetamine in forensic sciences.