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Oral fluid and plasma 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and metabolite correlation after controlled oral MDMA administration

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Abstract

Oral fluid (OF) offers a noninvasive sample collection for drug testing. However, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) in OF has not been adequately characterized in comparison to plasma. We administered oral low-dose (1.0 mg/kg) and high-dose (1.6 mg/kg) MDMA to 26 participants and collected simultaneous OF and plasma specimens for up to 143 h after dosing. We compared OF/plasma (OF/P) ratios, time of initial detection (t first), maximal concentrations (C max), time of peak concentrations (t max), time of last detection (t last), clearance, and 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA)-to-MDMA ratios over time. For OF MDMA and MDA, C max was higher, t last was later, and clearance was slower compared to plasma. For OF MDA only, t first was later compared to plasma. Median (range) OF/P ratios were 5.6 (0.1–52.3) for MDMA and 3.7 (0.7–24.3) for MDA. OF and plasma concentrations were weakly but significantly correlated (MDMA: R 2 = 0.438, MDA: R 2 = 0.197, p < 0.0001). Median OF/P ratios were significantly higher following high dose administration: MDMA low = 5.2 (0.1–40.4), high = 6.0 (0.4–52.3, p < 0.05); MDA low = 3.3 (0.7–17.1), high = 4.1 (0.9–24.3, p < 0.001). There was a large inter-subject variation in OF/P ratios. The MDA/MDMA ratios in plasma were higher than those in OF (p < 0.001), and the MDA/MDMA ratios significantly increased over time in OF and plasma. The MDMA and MDA concentrations were higher in OF than in plasma. OF and plasma concentrations were correlated, but large inter-subject variability precludes the estimation of plasma concentrations from OF.

Oral fluid and plasma 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) concentrations in all simultaneously collected paired-positive specimens collected −0.25 to 143 h after 1.0 and 1.6 mg/kg oral MDMA administration to 26 adult participants

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the contributions of the clinical staffs of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, and Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, as well as the Graduate Partnership Program, NIH and the Fondation Baxter et Alma Ricard. This research was funded by the Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutic Research Branch, NIDA IRP, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Suite 200 Room 05A-721, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA

    Nathalie A. Desrosiers, Allan J. Barnes, Rebecca L. Hartman, Karl B. Scheidweiler, David A. Gorelick & Marilyn A. Huestis

  2. Program in Toxicology, University of Maryland Baltimore, 655 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Nathalie A. Desrosiers & Rebecca L. Hartman

  3. Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, 2355 North Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX, 75207, USA

    Erin A. Kolbrich-Spargo

  4. 800 Ingleside Avenue, Catonsville, MD, 21228, USA

    Robert S. Goodwin

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  1. Nathalie A. Desrosiers
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  2. Allan J. Barnes
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  3. Rebecca L. Hartman
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  4. Karl B. Scheidweiler
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  5. Erin A. Kolbrich-Spargo
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  6. David A. Gorelick
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  8. Marilyn A. Huestis
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Correspondence to Marilyn A. Huestis.

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Desrosiers, N.A., Barnes, A.J., Hartman, R.L. et al. Oral fluid and plasma 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and metabolite correlation after controlled oral MDMA administration. Anal Bioanal Chem 405, 4067–4076 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-013-6848-7

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