Long-Term Stability of Benzodiazepines and Z-Hypnotic Drugs in Blood Samples Stored at Varying Temperatures

Laura Banaszkiewicz; Mateusz Kacper Woźniak; Ewa Domagalska; Michal Kaliszan; Agata Kot-Wasik

doi:10.1093/jat/bkac006

Long-Term Stability of Benzodiazepines and Z-Hypnotic Drugs in Blood Samples Stored at Varying Temperatures

Abstract

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) and Z-drugs are among the most commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals in the world and are considered standard care for various mental illnesses and for treatment of sleeping and anxiety disorders, alcohol withdrawal, muscle spasms and epilepsy. Some BZDs are not allowed as pharmaceuticals in many countries, and they are used as "designer benzodiazepines" (DBZDs). All these compounds are typically screened in routine toxicological analyses for forensic purposes. Knowledge of time-dependent decreases in drug concentrations during storage or transport of samples is of considerable significance and allows forensic toxicologists to achieve reliable data, proper interpretation and high-quality results. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in the amounts of selected BZDs, DBZDs and Z-drugs in blood samples stored at various temperatures. The study involved BZDs (19), DBZDs (3) and Z-drugs (2) spiked into blank blood. Subsequently, the blood samples were stored at various temperatures (room temperature, 4°C, -20°C and -80°C) for up to six months. Analyses were performed at 1-2 week intervals using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The stability of compounds were evaluated under four temperature conditions over a 6 month. Some benzodiazepines were stable at all temperatures tested (e.g., diazepam, oxazepam, nordazepam, prazepam) and degradated of only 0-10%. The highest instability was observed for analyte samples kept at room temperature, and the losses in content for some compounds, e.g., lorazepam and chlordiazepoxide, were almost 100%. For other compounds, the stability was clearly different at each tested temperature. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first such comprehensive study of the long-term stability of benzodiazepines covering a wide range of different storage temperatures.

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Authors (5)

Laura Banaszkiewicz
Mateusz Kacper Woźniak (formerly: Mateusz Woźniak)
- Gdański Uniwersytet Medyczny, Wydział Farmacji, Katedra i Zakład Medycyny Sądowej
Ewa Domagalska
- Gdański Uniwersytet Medyczny, Wydział Farmacji, Katedra i Zakład Medycyny Sądowej
Michal Kaliszan
- Gdański Uniwersytet Medyczny, Wydział Farmacji, Katedra i Zakład Medycyny Sądowej
Agata Kot-Wasik prof. dr hab. inż.

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Keywords

LC-MS/MS,STORAGE CONDITION,BENZODIAZEPINES,BLOOD,LONG-TERM STABILITY

Details

Category:

Articles

Type:

artykuły w czasopismach

Published in:

JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL TOXICOLOGY no. 46, pages 1073 - 1078,
ISSN: 0146-4760

Language:

English

Publication year:

2022

Bibliographic description:

Banaszkiewicz L., Woźniak M., Domagalska E., Kaliszan M., Kot-Wasik A.: Long-Term Stability of Benzodiazepines and Z-Hypnotic Drugs in Blood Samples Stored at Varying Temperatures// JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL TOXICOLOGY -, (2022),

DOI: