Drug testing in oral fluid - Evaluation of sample collection devices

Abstract

Nine different oral fluid (OF) collection devices were studied to evaluate their suitability for collecting samples for drug analysis. The devices were Greiner Bio-One, Orasure Intercept®, Immunalysis Quantisal™, StatSure Saliva-Sampler™, Cozart®, Sarstedt Salivette®, Malvern Medical OraCol, Acro Biotech Salicule, and Varian OraTube™. For comparison, OF was also collected into plastic tubes. The volume of collected OF was quantified for samples collected both in vitro and from volunteers. Drug recovery was studied by collecting OF fortified at 1000 ng/mL with amphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, cocaine, Δ 9terahydrocannabinol, morphine, codeine, diazepam, and alprazolam with the devices in vitro and analyzing the samples with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Recovery of ethanol was measured from 0.2% in OF by headspace gas chromatography-flame-ionization detection. The stability of drugs in the samples was studied by analyzing the samples after 0, 14, and 28 days storage. The study shows that there are substantial differences between the OF collection devices on the market. Some are well suited for collecting samples for toxicological analysis, but some give quite poor results.