Aviation Accident Forensic Assessment: Comprehensive Single-Extraction Urine Screening Procedure.
Abstract
One of the missions of the Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI), Office of Aviation Medicine (OAM), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is to help assess the role of potential medical or drug related pilot impairment in aviation accidents. This requires the ability to identify a wide range of drugs and the medical conditions for which these drugs are prescribed. A single extraction screening procedure was developed to identify as many drugs as possible in urine, with minimal effort and cost. Triarnterene, a diuretic, is easily identified using HPLC and TLC, whereas it can not be easily identified using standard CC Mass Spectroscopy. On the other hand, atenolol is easily identified using HPLC and Mass Spectroscopy, but is not detected using TLC at therapeutic levels. Methadone is difficult to detect using HPLC with a photo diode array and fluorescence detector, but can easily be detected using TLC and confirmed by mass spectroscopy. Urine specimens are hydrolyxed using Beta-glucuronidase, and the specimen is then extracted using commercially purchased TOXI-LAB A extraction tubes. After removing the TOM-LAB organic phase, the remaining aqueous layer is washed with chloroform. The organic phase and the chloroform wash are combined, evaporated to dryness, and then reconstituted in 5OuL of a methanol solution. A 10uL quantity of the methanol solution is then chromatographed, using HPLC with a photo diode array and fluorescence detector. The methanol solution is next analyxed using either TOXI-LAB or GC Mass Spectroscopy, depending on the compound detected using HPLC. When HPLC is negative, the extract is analyxed using the TOXI-LAB procedure.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA309962
Entities
People
- Dennis Canfield
- John Soper
- Tom Kupiec
- Vicky White
Organizations
- Federal Aviation Administration