Dynamic solid phase microextraction analysis for airborne methamphetamine: quantitation using isotopically substituted methamphetamine

Abstract

A vapour dosing system was developed that gave constant concentrations of methamphetamine in the range 1 to 10 μg m⁻³. This was used to calibrate the response of solid phase microextraction (SPME) fibres in passive and dynamic sampling modes. Exposure of 100 μm polydimethylsiloxane SPME fibres to a constant concentration of 1–5 μg m⁻³ methamphetamine over 1–70 min followed by GC-MS analysis produced a curvilinear pre-steady state sorption curve sufficiently reproducible to enable calibration of the SPME absorption. There was no evidence for loss of methamphetamine from the polydimethylsiloxane fibre under static ambient conditions for 5 h or during exposure to 1 L min⁻¹ airflow in a dynamic SPME sampler for 90 min at room temperature. Sequential exposure of SPME fibres to methamphetamine and d₉-methamphetamine showed that both analytes were retained. These results demonstrate that solid phase microextraction can be used with pre-loaded isotopically substituted methamphetamine as an internal standard for accurate quantitation of airborne methamphetamine. The isotopic labeling experiments also showed that the dosing system had a small but significant reservoir of methamphetamine, even though it was constructed from mainly inert materials and much of it was at elevated temperature. We therefore recommend that separate vapour dosing units be used for labeled and unlabeled methamphetamine.