Date of Award
Spring 6-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department/Program
Forensic Science
Language
English
First Advisor or Mentor
Marta Concheiro-Guisan
Second Reader
Gail Cooper
Third Advisor
Sabra Jones
Abstract
Driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) poses a significant threat to public health and road safety due to growing drug prevalence and use. Oral fluid (OF) is emerging as a suitable alternative matrix for the analysis of drugs in DUID investigations as collection is rapid, simple, non-invasive, easily supervised, and does not require trained medical personnel. Additionally, its window of detection is beneficial in estimating recent exposure, and drug concentrations in OF may correlate with those concentrations present in blood. The goal of this study was to develop and validate a rapid “crash-and-shoot” protocol for OF collected by the QuantisalTM collection device to screen for 89 drugs across various classes by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The screening method was validated according to the ANSI/ASB Standard 036 through the assessment of limit of detection (LOD), matrix effect, and endogenous interferences. This method includes all Tier I drugs except cannabis and meets or exceeds the recommended target concentrations; however, benzodiazepines, benzoylecgonine, and gabapentin are included but exceed the target concentrations. Five drugs, butyrylfentanyl, furanylfentanyl, metonitazene, N-desmethyltramadol, and O-desmethyltramadol, did not meet the LOD criteria and could only be monitored in samples. The matrix effect evaluation revealed ion suppression for 79 and 85 analytes at low and high quality control (QC) concentrations, respectively, which is likely due to the QuantisalTM buffer. There were acceptable results for endogenous interferences. Overall, 84 out of the 89 analytes passed the validation criteria for this rapid crash and shoot screening method.
Recommended Citation
Jetoo, Davina, "Development and Validation of a Rapid Screening Method to Identify 89 drugs in Oral Fluid by LC-MS/MS" (2026). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/393
