Skip to Content
MilliporeSigma
  • Determination of levamisole and tetramisole in seized cocaine samples by enantioselective high-performance liquid chromatography and circular dichroism detection.

Determination of levamisole and tetramisole in seized cocaine samples by enantioselective high-performance liquid chromatography and circular dichroism detection.

Journal of chromatography. A (2014-08-16)
Carlo Bertucci, Daniele Tedesco, Edoardo Fabini, Anna Maria Di Pietra, Francesca Rossi, Marco Garagnani, Elia Del Borrello, Vincenza Andrisano
ABSTRACT

Levamisole, an anthelmintic drug, has been increasingly employed as an adulterant of illicit street cocaine over the last decade; recently, the use of tetramisole, the racemic mixture of levamisole and its enantiomer dexamisole, was also occasionally observed. A new enantioselective high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method, performed on cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) chiral stationary phases in normal-phase mode, was validated to determine the enantiomeric composition of tetramisole enantiomers in seized cocaine samples. Furthermore, the hyphenation of the validated HPLC method with a circular dichroism (CD) detection system allowed the direct determination of elution order and a selective monitoring of levamisole and dexamisole in the presence of possible interferences. The method was applied to the identification and quantitation of the two enantiomers of tetramisole in seized street cocaine samples.

MATERIALS
Product Number
Brand
Product Description

USP
Benzocaine, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Reference Standard
Sigma-Aldrich
Ethanol, JIS first grade, 94.8-95.8%
Procaine hydrochloride, European Pharmacopoeia (EP) Reference Standard
Supelco
Phenacetin, Pharmaceutical Secondary Standard; Certified Reference Material
Supelco
Cocaine solution, 1.0 mg/mL in acetonitrile, ampule of 1 mL, certified reference material, Cerilliant®
Lidocaine, European Pharmacopoeia (EP) Reference Standard
Caffeine for system suitability, European Pharmacopoeia (EP) Reference Standard
Supelco
Dehydrated Alcohol, Pharmaceutical Secondary Standard; Certified Reference Material
Supelco
Melting point standard 235-237°C, analytical standard
Supelco
Lidocaine, Pharmaceutical Secondary Standard; Certified Reference Material
Supelco
Benzocaine, Pharmaceutical Secondary Standard; Certified Reference Material
Supelco
Procaine hydrochloride, Pharmaceutical Secondary Standard; Certified Reference Material
Supelco
Ethanol solution, certified reference material, 2000 μg/mL in methanol
Supelco
Phenacetin melting point standard, Pharmaceutical Secondary Standard; Certified Reference Material
USP
Lidocaine, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Reference Standard
Benzocaine, European Pharmacopoeia (EP) Reference Standard
Sigma-Aldrich
Procaine hydrochloride, ≥97%
Sigma-Aldrich
Benzocaine, ≥99% (HPLC)
Supelco
Cocaine hydrochloride solution, 1.0 mg/mL in methanol, analytical standard, for drug analysis
Sigma-Aldrich
Ethanol Fixative 80% v/v, suitable for fixing solution (blood films)
Sigma-Aldrich
Lidocaine, analytical standard
Sigma-Aldrich
Lidocaine, powder
Sigma-Aldrich
Cocaine hydrochloride
Sigma-Aldrich
Phenacetin, ≥98.0% (HPLC)
Sigma-Aldrich
Isopropyl alcohol, ≥99.7%, FCC, FG
USP
Procaine hydrochloride, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Reference Standard
USP
Phenacetin Melting Point Standard, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Reference Standard
Sigma-Aldrich
Ethanol, JIS special grade, 94.8-95.8%
USP
Dehydrated Alcohol, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Reference Standard
Sigma-Aldrich
Hexane, HPLC Plus, for HPLC, GC, and residue analysis, ≥95%