Development of a LC–MS/MS method for determination of propofol-glucuronide in hair and preliminary study on relationships between dose and hair concentration

Abstract Propofol abuse has been reported worldwide, suggesting the need to establish analytical methods for human biological samples to investigate the abuse of propofol. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between dose and hair concentration using a simple and rapid analytical method developed and validated in this study. In the sample preparation, hair samples were washed with distilled water and methanol and extracted in methanol during 16 h at room temperature. After centrifugation and evaporation, the residue was reconstituted and filtered through a 0.22 μm membrane filter before LC–MS/MS analysis. The precursor-to-product ion transitions were 353 → 175, 113 for propofol glucuronide and m/z 370 → 175, 113 for internal standard(propofol glucuronide-d17). The calibration curves were satisfactory (R2 = 0.9997) and the limits of detection and quantification were 2 and 5 pg/mg, respectively. In addition, this study collected the history of propofol use from subjects using a questionnaire and analyzed subjects' hair samples using a validated analytical method. As a result, the concentrations of propofol glucuronide ranged from 7 to 122 pg/mg (mean : 51 pg/mg). There were cases of positive relationships, but generally there was no correlation between dose and hair concentration.