Urine drugs of abuse
Service Announcement 8/01/11
Opiates Confirmation Method Change
Dear Client:
Effective August 1, 2011, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory will start confirmation testing of urine Opiates using the industry's most advanced, most sensitive and specific analytical method, Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS).
Specificity of LC/MS/MS can be attributed to the fact that it separates the parent mass of the analyte and further breaks it down into fragments that are specific to the analyte, known as multiple reaction monitoring (MRM), ensuring that the peak is the analyte we seek, and that background interference is minimal.
With the LC/MS/MS technique, we will be offering the same cut-off levels as the previous method (GC/MS). In addition to improving test methodology, we are including 6-MAM (6-Monoacetylmorphine, heroin metabolite) as part of the Opiates Panel. Toxicology result reports will now feature these two drugs and indicate LC/MS/MS is the test procedure.
If you have any questions, please contact Client Services at (800) 255-2159, ext. 4399.
Sincerely,
Redwood Toxicology Laboratory
11 000 3418 REV1