Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The Analysis of Antipsychotic Drugs in Human
Biosamples by LC-MS
Eva Saar , Dimitri Gerostamoulos , Olaf H. Drummer , and Jochen Beyer
Abstract
Over the last 60 years extensive development has occurred in the
pharmacological treatment of mental illnesses with currently over 40 different
compounds being prescribed.
Antipsychotic drugs (APs) are today amongst the most commonly prescribed
drug classes with “second generation” or “atypical” APs accounting for the majority
of prescriptions worldwide. As noncompliance is a common problem amongst
patients treated with APs, these drugs are frequently subject to therapeutic drug
monitoring (TDM). LC-MS techniques have facilitated the detection of these drugs
which are frequently associated with very low blood concentrations particularly
after IM depot injections. Multiple methods for the detection and quantification of
APs in human biological specimens have been published using LC-MS, particularly
in the last decade, as this instrumentation has been available for routine laboratories.
This chapter reviews published multianalyte methods and highlights the important
criteria when developing an analytical method for the detection of APs, potential
pitfalls, and the importance of appropriate method validation, in order to assure
reproducibility of results.
E. Saar D. Gerostamoulos O. H. Drummer J. Beyer (
*
)
Department of Forensic Medicine, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and Monash
University , 57-83 Kavanagh St , Southbank 3006 , VC , Australia
e-mail: jochenb@vifm.org
