Mass spectrometry-based solutions for forensic analysis
Increased pressure for definitive drug testing
Modern forensic science requires fast, reliable and comprehensive analysis to help organizations and authorities find the answers they need.
Laboratories involved in toxicology screening and drug identification must get from sample to answer as quickly and reliably as they can. In clinical and forensic toxicology, seized drugs identification and workplace drug screening, time is of the essence. These high-throughput environments require efficient techniques and minimal downtime.
A 23 percent increase in drug users over the last decade and the global expansion of new psychoactive substances (NPS), alongside the ongoing global opioid public health crisis, has led to ever-increasing case volumes resulting in long turnaround times and a backlog of forensic samples. Bruker Applied Mass Spectrometry, together with partners like PinPoint Testing, provide rapid and definitive chromatography-free workflows that require minimal user training and low operational costs as well as conventional workflows for the identification and characterization of drugs and NPS.
Forensic applications
Bruker’s suite of mass spectrometry-based workflows for forensic sample analysis provides everything from accurate, robust and high-throughput screening and quantitation to thorough characterization of drugs, illicit compounds, and NPS.
Workplace drug testing
Workplace drug testing is crucial in maintaining employee wellness, safety and productivity, while also reducing employer legal liability risk. It is becoming increasingly common around the world and many countries have mandatory guidelines for routine workplace drug testing that require fast, reliable results.
Bruker offers the PinPoint ToxBox® platform which can be integrated with DART-MS and DART-HRMS chromatography-free workflows to meet drug screening and confirmation requirements for drugs of abuse, prescribed medications, controlled substances, and emerging illicit drugs. Together, Bruker and PinPoint deliver routine workplace drug testing results.
Seized drug and controlled substance identification
Authorities around the world are tasked with controlling the illegal drug trade and are particularly under pressure to respond to the rise in emerging drugs, including NPS which are designed to mimic known drugs of abuse and evade detection. Laboratory sample backlogs continue to delay the administration of justice and preexisting lab resourcing constraints now face even greater demand for fast sample analysis. To tackle this complex challenge, reliable seized drug and controlled substance analysis is required.
Bruker’s unique chromatography-free workflows, based on DART (direct analysis in real time) mass spectrometry technology, accelerate controlled substance testing. Laboratories can perform rapid and definitive targeted analysis using DART technology and for untargeted and NPS analysis, DART-high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), provides a quick workflow for comprehensive screening and NPS chemical characterization. In both cases, irrefutable analytical results are generated in seconds, decreasing sample turn-around-time to reduce backlog.
Forensic toxicology
The detection, identification, and quantitation of all substances of toxicological relevance in biological samples is a central task in today’s forensic toxicology laboratory.
Chromatography-free and conventional liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) workflows are the solution for accurate and comprehensive analysis. For targeted quantitation, the EVOQ DART-TQ+ provides reliable chromatography-free screens in seconds with a quick change to LC-MS for sample confirmation.
Bruker’s TargetScreener HR workflow can be used with a Bruker quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) system for definitive in-depth analysis. The forensic toxicology database included facilitates the analysis of known substances. Retrospective analysis based on existing data is also possible using TargetScreener HR, saving time by removing the need to repeat experiments.
Bruker’s automated library search function allows quick interpretation of results with clear comparison against reference standards. Integrated with the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) database, the reference library can be customized to fit individual requirements for a comprehensive drug identification platform.
Quick and reliable workflows for forensic screening
Bruker's mass spectrometry-based workflows incorporate expert software to alleviate the increasing pressure in forensic testing and analysis labs to combat the rising number of emerging drugs and rapidly screen for known drugs of abuse, prescribed medications, controlled substances and emerging illicit drugs.
Read more about Bruker's workflows for forensic applications using mass spectrometry:
Rapid sample screening with chromatography-free workflows
Bruker’s chromatography-free workflows use a DART ion source, removing the need for liquid or gas chromatography, and provide comprehensive targeted and untargeted analysis in seconds, streamlining routine forensic analysis.
Interpreting DART results can be done quickly with Bruker’s automated library search functionality, which combines customized libraries with external databases, including the US NIST database, and provides a clear comparison against reference standards.
Benefits of chromatography-free solutions include:
- High sensitivity
- Minimal sample preparation
- Fast sample screens
- Reduced instrument clean-down and maintenance
- Low cost of ownership
- Greater sustainability.
Bruker’s TargetScreener HR workflow
The TargetScreener HR workflow combines with QTOF technology to perform comprehensive, detailed analysis. It not only includes a forensic toxicology database for the analysis of known substances, but can also perform retrospective analysis based on existing data.
Meanwhile, compact and impact II VIP QTOF systems also offer an unrivaled dynamic range in combination with mass accuracy, sensitivity, MS/MS performance and robustness.
Mass spectrometry instruments
Mass spectrometry is widely used in detecting, identifying, and quantifying known and emerging drugs due to its accuracy and robustness. Bruker’s mass spectrometry solutions include:
EVOQ DART-TQ+ | Chromatography-free workflow for forensic analysis
Routine forensic screening using the fully integrated DART source is simple and cost effective. Users can screen for and quantify target substances in seconds.
If traditional LC-MS workflows for sample confirmation are required, the user can easily switch from the integrated DART source to the VIP-HESI source in seconds.
TargetScreener HR | In-depth sample analysis for a range of drug types
The TargetScreener HR workflow allows for an easy addition of new compounds to the HR-MS database, which is of extreme importance for the rapid emergence of new drugs.
EVOQ triple quad mass spectrometry | High-sensitivity, quantitative analysis
The EVOQ TQ-MS provides analysts with an MS platform designed for a singular purpose – to reliably quantify thousands of target analytes from real samples in the fastest sample-to-report time possible.
The system delivers exceptional sensitivity, precision, accuracy and linearity over a wide dynamic range for multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) assays. Innovations in software and atmospheric pressure ionization (API) technology make the EVOQ TQ-MS highly effective for routine high-sensitivity, quantitative analysis.
EVOQ GC-TQ and EVOQ LC-TQ | Quantify key compounds in forensics
Bruker’s range of reliable triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS) systems are highly sensitive and specific, enabling the comprehensive analysis of forensic samples. Both the EVOQ LC-TQ and the EVOQ GC-TQ can detect compounds that are only present in small amounts which is essential for the detection of known and emergent drugs.
impact II VIP | Trace analysis in complex matrices
Providing exceptional sensitivity for targeted quantitation and routine testing, the new impact II VIP QTOF was designed for ultimate performance and provides the highest sensitivity due to the unique dual VIP-HESI ion source.
The improved source design, based on a new Vacuum Insulated Probe (VIP) and a Heated ElectroSpray Ionisation (HESI), also offers improved ionization efficiency and reduced fragmentation, increasing sensitivity relative to conventional ion sources.
PinPoint ToxBox® platform with DART | Cost-effective drug screening
The ToxBox® platform can be used alongside DART-MS and DART-HRMS chromatography-free technology to perform drug screening and confirmation for a range of substances in a matter of minutes.
Custom plates can also be designed and manufactured to meet individual client needs.
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