MEKC – MS / MS method using a volatile surfactant for the simultaneous determination of 12 synthetic cannabinoids

This study describes a method for the simultaneous determination of 12 synthetic cannabinoids by MEKC-MS/MS using a volatile surfactant (ammonium perfluorooctanoate) as a constituent of the micellar pseudostationary phase. Although most synthetic cannabinoids comigrated by a CZE method, sufficient separation could be achieved by the proposed method. The best separation was made possible by 50 mM ammonium perfluorooctanoate in 20% v/v acetonitrile/water (apparent pH* 9.0) as the BGE, followed by MS detection using a sheath liquid composed of 5 mM ammonium formate in 50% v/v methanol/water mixed hydro-organic solvent. The standard calibration curve for all analytes showed good linearity (r > 0.99). Satisfactory recoveries, ranging from 89.5 to 101.7%, were obtained. The LODs were 6.5-76.5 μg/g for the target analytes. This method appears to be a useful tool for the identification of synthetic cannabinoids in illegal herbal incense blends.