Matrizes biológicas para análise de cocaína

Abstract

Cocaine is one of the most consumed drugs in the world. Its use is associated with both the recreational and abusive consumption, and for that matter it represents a major worldwide public health problem. Many legal problems are caused by cocaine. Thus, the analysis of this drug is of paramount importance. The objective of this study is to analyze the presence of cocaine in diferent biological matrices, conventional and unconventional, through toxicological analysis. These analysis represent an important tool in the control and prevention of drug use. It is vital to know the toxico-kinetic properties of cocaine to define which biological matrix provides reliable results. The analysis in the blood is advantageous because it indicates recent exposure of drug. The urine sample is a choice in which most cases, it represents a non-invasive procedure for containing fewer endogenous interferences. The hair is an excellent biological matrix to determine exposure for an extended period of time and analysis can be performed with any piece of hair from the body. The analysis from body sweat is rarely used because of the level of difficulty in collecting a significant amount of sample. The saliva is an attractive biological matrix, the sample collection is non-invasive and provides analyte concentration suitable for quantification. The characteristics of each biological matrix must be considered at the time of the analytical technique of choice. The analytical methods are based on two stages, the screening process followed by the confirmatory one.