Development of a 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine analysis method in dried blood spot using ultra-high per-formance liquid chromatography quadrupole–Time of flight

Background: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), or ecstasy, is one of the most abused narcotics in Indonesia. Biological samples can be used to analyse MDMA levels in the body. Urine sampling cannot be supervised for privacy reasons, and it raises doubts about the authenticity of the evidence compared with blood samples. Dried blood spot (DBS) is simpler and minimally invasive than conventional blood sampling. Objective: This study aimed to develop a validated MDMA analysis method in DBS using UPLC-QToF. Method: ESI+ mode was used with Acquity® UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 x 100 mm; 1.7 μm); flow rate 0.10 mL/minute; mobile phase 5 mM NH4HCOO/0.1% HCOOH and methanol (70:30); column temperature 50°C, with an injection volume of 5 μL. Quantitation was carried out at m/z 163.0789 for MDMA and m/z 148.1153 for ephedrine HCl (IS). Result: The LLOQ value obtained was 20 ng/mL for MDMA with a calibration curve range of 20 – 500 ng/mL. Conclusion: The analytical method complied with the requirements set by the US FDA (2022) and was adopted from ICH M10 guidelines.