Problems of Forensic Sciences 2018 Vol. 116 (CXVI) 357-374
IDENTIFICATION AND DETERMINATION OF OPIOID PEPTIDES IN BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL USING THE LC-QTOF-MS/MS TECHNIQUE
Magdalena POPŁAWSKA1, Paulina ŻOŁEK1, Emilia WIDECKA-DEPTUCH2, Agnieszka SIWIŃSKA2, Małgorzata GRZEŚKIEWICZ-WAROWNA1,3, Michał KARYŃSKI1, Małgorzata BRZOZOWSKA2, Agata BŁAŻEWICZ1
1Counterfeit Medicinal Products and Designer Drugs Department, National Medicines Institute, Warszawa, Poland
2Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland
3Department of Analytical Chemistry and Biomaterials, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland
Streszczenie
"Kambo" is a substance obtained from the skin secretions of frog Phyllomedusa bicolor. It is used in the Amazon region, where it is administered into the body via the transdermal route. In Europe, the “kambo ceremony” is becoming more popular as a way to cleanse the body from toxins, strengthen the immune system, and restore the body to full health. There is, however, no scientific research confirming these effects. According to the literature, the frog’s skin secretion is rich in biologically active peptides, e.g. deltorphin I and deltorphin II. These opioid peptides are selectively agonists of the δ opioid receptor. The studied materials were dry frog skin secretion and post mortem blood samples collected from a deceased woman who had taken part in the “kambo ceremony”. The aim of this research is to present new methods for the identification and determination of opioid peptides (deltorphin I and deltorphin II) by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry with a time-of-flight analyzer (LC-QTOF-MS/MS) in the skin secretion of a frog, and their application in the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the investigated sample. The developed method of deltorphins determination was adapted to biological material analysis, optimized, validated, and used for blood sample testing. This method allows precise and accurate determination of deltorphins in the blood if the concentration is higher than 8–10 ng/ml. However, due to rapid proteolytic degradation, it can only be used for the analysis of blood samples taken and prepared for testing shortly after poisoning. No peptides were identified in the blood material from the deceased woman. Most likely deltorphins absorbed by the body were metabolized before the autopsy material was collected.
Słowa kluczowe
"Kambo ceremony"; Opioid peptides; Deltorphin I; Deltorphin II; Mass spectrometry.