Determination of four thiophenethylamine designer drugs (2C-T-4, 2C-T-8, 2C-T-13, 2C-T-17) in human urine by capillary electrophoresis/mass spectrometry

An analytical procedure for the simultaneous determination in human urine of four thiophenethylamine
designer drugs (2C-T series) is reported. The quantitative analysis was performed by capillary
electrophoresis with mass spectrometric detection (CE/MS), using 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylthiophenethylamine-
D4 (2C-T-D4) as internal standard. In order to minimize interferences with matrix
components and to preconcentrate target analytes, solid-phase extraction (SPE) was introduced in the
method as a clean-up step. The method was validated according to international guidelines. The data
for accuracy and precision were within required limits. Calibration curves were generated over the
range from 10 to 500 ngmL
1 and correlation coefficients always exceeded 0.997. The method was
demonstrated to be specific, sensitive, and reliable for the analysis of these derivatives in urine
samples.