Stability study of the designer drugs “MDA, MDMA and MDEA” in water, serum, whole blood, and urine under various storage temperatures

The designer drugs MDA, MDMA, and MDEA remain stable in water and urine for 21 weeks when stored in the dark at -20, 4, or 20 degrees Celsius. In serum, stability lasts up to 17 weeks, and in whole blood up to 5 weeks, after which matrix degradation prevents analysis, especially in low-concentration samples stored at room temperature. Storage at -20 degrees Celsius preserves the compounds for 21 weeks even in haemolysed whole blood.

Study at a glance

Abstract

A controlled study was undertaken to determine the stability of the designer drugs MDA, MDMA and MDEA in pooled serum, whole blood, water and urine samples over a period of 21 weeks. The concentrations of the individual designer drugs in the various matrices were monitored over time, in the dark at various temperatures (-20, 4 or 20 degrees C), for a low (+/- 6 ng/ml for water, serum and whole blood and +/- 150 ng/ml for urine) and a high concentration level (+/- 550 ng/ml for water, serum and whole blood and +/- 2500 ng/ml for urine). Compound concentrations were measured using a validated HPLC assay with fluorescence detection. Our study demonstrated no significant loss of the designer drugs in water and urine at any of the investigated temperatures for 21 weeks. The same results were observed in serum for up to 17 weeks, and up to 5 weeks in whole blood. After that time, the compounds could no longer be analyzed due to matrix degradation, especially in the low concentration samples that were stored at room temperature. This study demonstrates that the designer drugs, MDA, MDMA and MDEA are stable when stored at -20 degrees C for 21 weeks, even in haemolysed whole blood.