Date of Award
Spring 6-2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department/Program
Forensic Science
Language
English
First Advisor or Mentor
Richard Stripp
Second Reader
Donald Hoffman
Third Advisor
Damon Borg
Abstract
An original method to extract and detect barbiturates, specifically secobarbital, in hair by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), has been developed. Drug-free hair specimens were fortified with an exaggerated amount of secobarbital to produce a homogeneous, true positive sample to be utilized to test the drug extraction efficiency from hair. Drug extraction using hair extraction buffer (HEB) from Immunalysis was compared to a base digestion using 1M NaOH. After LCMS/MS analysis, HEB extraction was deemed a successful method for extracting barbiturates from hair. Using this method, the Barbiturates Direct ELISA Kit from Immunalysis was evaluated for its potential use in the detection of barbiturates in hair specimens. After thorough analysis, it appears the kit is more than suitable as a screening assay due to its sensitivity and reproducibility.
Recommended Citation
Valentino, Alisa M., "A Validation of the Detection of Barbiturates in Hair by ELISA" (2017). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/4
