Development and evaluation of a radioimmunoassay for the detection of amphetamine and related compounds in biological fluids

Abstract

A radioimmunoassay has been developed for the detection of amphetamine and its analogues in blood and urine without any pre-treatment of the samples. It is based on a commercially available antiserum and a [¹²⁵I] iodinated derivative of amphetamine.

The assay can detect low levels of amphetamine (less than 10 ng ml^–1) in very small samples (50 µl) of blood and urine. It is cheap (3 pence per test), rapid, simple to perform and is specific for compounds closely related to amphetamine.

A high, positive correlation was obtained (r 0.93) when results of the analyses of urine samples from volunteers who had ingested amphetamine were compared with those produced by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry.

The assay has proved very useful for the detection of amphetamine and closely related compounds in biological fluids.