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Stability of Morphine, Codeine, and 6‐Acetylmorphine in Blood at Different Sampling and Storage Conditions
Author(s) -
Papoutsis Ioannis,
Nikolaou Panagiota,
Pistos Constantinos,
Dona Artemisia,
Stefanidou Maria,
Spiliopoulou Chara,
Athanaselis Sotirios
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12337
Subject(s) - codeine , morphine , preservative , chemistry , chromatography , oxalate , sodium oxalate , sodium citrate , syringe , fluoride , nuclear chemistry , pharmacology , organic chemistry , inorganic chemistry , medicine , pathology , psychiatry
The stability of drugs in biological specimens is a major concern during the evaluation of the toxicological results. The stability of morphine, codeine, and 6‐acetyl‐morphine in blood was studied after different sampling conditions: (i) in glass, polypropylene or polystyrene tubes, (ii) with addition of dipotassium ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid ( K 2 EDTA ) or sodium oxalate (Na 2 C 2 O 4 ), and (iii) with or without the addition of sodium fluoride (NaF). Spiked blood samples were stored at two different temperatures (4 and −20 ° C), analyzed after different storage times and after three freeze–thaw cycles. Opiate concentrations were decreased in all conditions, but the most unstable was 6‐acetyl‐morphine. The addition of NaF as preservative improved the stability of opiates at all conditions studied, whereas the type of anticoagulant did not affect the stability of opiates. It was concluded that blood samples should be stored at −20 ° C in glass tubes containing oxalate and NaF for maximum stability.