RT Journal Article
T1 Determination of tramadol and its main metabolite in pericardial fluid by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
A1 Blanco García, Laura
A1 Cabarcos Fernández, Pamela
A1 Álvarez Freire, Iván
A1 Tabernero Duque, María Jesús
A1 Bermejo Barrera, Pilar
A1 Moreda Piñeiro, Antonio
A1 Bermejo Barrera, Ana María
K1 Tramadol
K1 O-desmethyltramadol
K1 Pericardial fluid
K1 Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction
K1 Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
AB Tramadol is an opioid used to treat mild to moderate pain. It has a dual mechanism of action, being not only a pure, non-selective agonist of µ-opioid receptors, but also an inhibitor of neurotransmitter reuptake. In addition, tramadol’s main metabolite, O-desmethyltramadol (O-DMT), is also active and contributes to tramadol’s effects through the same mechanisms. The use of tramadol became relevant because of its lower rate of respiratory depression as a side effect compared to other opioids and its low potential for abuse. The belief that tramadol is a safer opioid has led to its widespread use, but also to its misuse and abuse. Therefore, the number of deaths reported to forensic toxicology laboratories due to tramadol abuse/poisoning, in combination or not with other substances of abuse, has increased. For this reason, methods for the determination of tramadol in alternative forensic specimens, such as pericardial fluid, which are useful post-mortem clinical specimens, are needed. A correlation between the concentration of several compounds in this fluid and in blood has already been established. Thus, pericardial fluid has been proposed as an alternative forensic sample and is of considerable use when blood cannot be obtained or is affected by post-mortem redistribution. A novel sample pretreatment method based on dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) was developed for the first time for the isolation of tramadol and its metabolite O-DMT from pericardial fluid. Acetone was used as a dispersant and chloroform as an extractant. Determinations were performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and method validation was performed according to FDA validation guidance. Results showed target linearity in the range 0.05–5.0 µg mL−1 for tramadol and 0.3–5.0 µg mL−1 for O-DMT with limits of detection (LOD) of 0.02 µg mL−1 and 0.1 µg mL−1 for tramadol and O-DMT, respectively.
PB Elsevier
SN 1095-9149
YR 2025
FD 2025-05-28
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/43088
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/43088
LA eng
NO Microchemical Journal Volume 214, July 2025, 114138
NO This work was supported by Xunta de Galicia (Grupo de Referencia Competitiva, reference ED431C 2022/029).
DS Minerva
RD 1 may 2026