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Background: Crack smokers are exposed to a pyrolysis product, methylecgonidine (MEG), which can be used as an analytical marker for crack smoking. Ecgonidine (EC), a hydrolytic product of MEG, has been identified in urine of crack smokers. MEG undergoes conversion to EC, complicating analysis and perhaps explaining a lack of forensic blood specimens containing MEG. Methods: We developed gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) assays for MEG and EC. Plasma was collected from sheep blood containing 0, 0.06, or 0.24 mol/L (0%, 0.25%, or 1%) NaF. MEG was added to these plasmas, and they were incubated at −80, 1, 21, or 37 °C to determine whether there were temporal, temperature, or storage effects on MEG stability over 48 h. Results: Decreased temperature and increased NaF concentrations limited MEG degradation and EC formation. MEG stored in plasma at −80 °C was stable up to 1 month, even in the absence of NaF. Conclusions: MEG is stable in sheep plasma collected in commercially available, evacuated blood-collection tubes containing NaF and stored at −80 °C. In vitro formation of EC can be minimized with appropriate sample handling, and its in vivo formation may provide a better marker of crack smoking than its parent pyrolysis product.

Stability of Methylecgonidine and Ecgonidine in Sheep Plasma in Vitro