The measurement of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in hair is an established practice to evaluate alcohol consumption habits of the donors; nevertheless, analytical variability has shown to be an important factor to be considered: measured EtG values can vary significantly as a consequence of analyte washout during decontamination, pulverization of samples, extraction solvent and incubation temperature. In the present study, we described a new method for automated hair decontamination and EtG extraction from the inner core of the hair by using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), followed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) cleanup; validation was performed according to SWGTOX guidelines. The extraction efficiency of the new method was evaluated by comparing the results with those obtained by a validated and ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited method; an average positive difference of + 32% was observed when the extraction was performed by PLE. The effect of hair pulverization was also studied, and a good correlation between cut and milled hair was observed, implying that PLE allowed a highly efficient extraction of EtG from the inner keratin core of the hair, no matter if it has been cut or pulverized. Finally, to verify the results, paired aliquots of 27 real hair samples were analyzed with both PLE and a protocol optimized by design-of-experiment strategies planned to maximize the extraction yield; in this case, a comparable efficiency was observed, suggesting that exhaustive EtG extraction was obtained with both approaches. This finding opens new perspectives in the eligible protocols devoted to hair EtG analysis, in terms of speed, automation and reproducibility.

Accelerated Extraction and Analysis of Ethyl Glucuronide in Hair by Means of Pressurized Liquid Extraction Followed by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Determination

Vincenti M.;Salomone A.;Compagnone D.;
2021-01-01

Abstract

The measurement of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in hair is an established practice to evaluate alcohol consumption habits of the donors; nevertheless, analytical variability has shown to be an important factor to be considered: measured EtG values can vary significantly as a consequence of analyte washout during decontamination, pulverization of samples, extraction solvent and incubation temperature. In the present study, we described a new method for automated hair decontamination and EtG extraction from the inner core of the hair by using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), followed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) cleanup; validation was performed according to SWGTOX guidelines. The extraction efficiency of the new method was evaluated by comparing the results with those obtained by a validated and ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited method; an average positive difference of + 32% was observed when the extraction was performed by PLE. The effect of hair pulverization was also studied, and a good correlation between cut and milled hair was observed, implying that PLE allowed a highly efficient extraction of EtG from the inner keratin core of the hair, no matter if it has been cut or pulverized. Finally, to verify the results, paired aliquots of 27 real hair samples were analyzed with both PLE and a protocol optimized by design-of-experiment strategies planned to maximize the extraction yield; in this case, a comparable efficiency was observed, suggesting that exhaustive EtG extraction was obtained with both approaches. This finding opens new perspectives in the eligible protocols devoted to hair EtG analysis, in terms of speed, automation and reproducibility.
2021
45
9
927
936
Alcohol Drinking; Biomarkers; Chromatography, Liquid; Glucuronates; Humans; Reproducibility of Results; Substance Abuse Detection; Alcoholism; Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Vincenti F.; Montesano C.; Oliva E.; Fanti F.; Vincenti M.; Salomone A.; Compagnone D.; Curini R.; Sergi M.
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Manuscript & figures - submitted JAT.pdf

Accesso aperto

Descrizione: Manoscritto con tabelle e figure
Tipo di file: PREPRINT (PRIMA BOZZA)
Dimensione 731.83 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
731.83 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
bkaa141 - final printed.pdf

Accesso riservato

Descrizione: Articolo pubblicato
Tipo di file: PDF EDITORIALE
Dimensione 736.16 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
736.16 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/1833744
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 0
  • Scopus 2
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 1
social impact