Study of drugs of abuse consumption by wastewater analysis using UHPLC-MS/MS (QqQ). An attempt to update the methodology

Abstract

Nowadays, drug use is a reality that we must study to prevent it from getting popularized and gaining addicts. However, it is a controversial topic and it is difficult to conduct non-biased surveys. This is why Wastewater Based Epidemiology, the analysis of wastewater to obtain DOAs consumption data, is an excellent tool to obtain realistic data without consulting the population. The use of this methodology is becoming more and more popular. The research was carried out for a city on the Mediterranean coast for two weeks, a normal week and a festive week in order to compare drug consumption. The substances studied were: MDMA, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Benzoylecgonine, THC-COOH, Morphine, 6-MAM, Heroin and Ketamine. In addition, a comparison study was carried out between different SPE cartridges to improve the current methodology. For accomplishing both objectives, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole with electrospray ionization (UHPLC-MS/MS (QqQ) was used. Higher drug intakes were found during weekends and festivities for stimulant drugs such as cocaine and MDMA. In addition, it was verified that drugs like cannabis and morphine, which are known to have relaxing effects, have a more constant consumption not only in a normal week but in a festive week. Additionally, it was proved that the use of new-generation SPE cartridges did not sustainably improve the previously used methodology