FORENSIC INVESTIGATION OF KERATIN MATRIX: DEVELOPMENT OF A METHOD BY TURBOFLOW™ HPLC-MS/MS FOR CANNABINOIDS QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

The products of cannabis are the most frequently used illicit drugs of abuse detected in workplace drug-testing programs or in cases of driving under the influence of drugs. For this reason, there is a great need for sensitive and specific methods which can confirm the chronic exposure and which take account of the cut-off values that have been proposed in Italy by the GTFI Guidelines (Group of Italian Forensic Toxicologists). The method currently more appropriate for quantification of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its major metabolite 11-nor-9-Carboxy-Δ9-THC (THCA) appears to be one that involves HPLC-MS/MS and keratin matrix. The purpose of this work, performed at the Mass Spectrometr…