Development of a generic approach to drugs of abuse screening using fast polarity switching MRM triggered product ion scanning on the fly

In recent years the need for forensic, toxicological and clinical analyses have increased, and as a consequence of sample complexity, analysis has become increasingly challenging due to a growing trend in the use of illicit drugs and non-medicinal prescription drugs. Screening applications requires rapid and unambiguous results that can be achieved using a generic analysis method designed for a large number of target compounds. To meet this need, a universal high speed MRM triggered product ion scanning method with fast polarity switching was applied to simultaneously screen, quantitate and confirm by reference to an MS/MS data base containing the majority of drugs of abuse available in Japan.