Journal Published Online: 01 July 1981
Volume 26, Issue 3

Detection of Phencyclidine in Hair

CODEN: JFSCAS

Abstract

Phencyclidine (PCP) can be detected in human hair with commercially available radioimmunoassay reagents. Hair samples of all subjects admitting PCP use were positive, while thin-layer chromatographic urine analyses were positive in only one of seven cases. Presumably the drug is incorporated into the hair during periods of drug use and then retained in that particular section of the hair for its lifetime. Earlier results in this laboratory in a more detailed study of opiate retention in hair indicated not only that nanogram levels of the drug could be measured in a single strand of hair, but also that sectional analysis of the strand could indicate the time of drug use. The PCP results again suggest that the hair sample could serve as a valuable tool in the determination of drug abuse histories. The sample accessibility and stability and the long-term retention of the drugs in hair exemplify the potential advantages of the hair sample over the body fluid sample.

Author Information

Baumgartner, AM
Ivan A. Getting Laboratories, The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, Calif.
Jones, PF
Ivan A. Getting Laboratories, The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, Calif.
Black, CT
Clinical Chemistry, Veterans Administration Wadsworth Medical Center, West Los Angeles, Calif.
Pages: 6
Price: $25.00
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Stock #: JFS11402J
ISSN: 0022-1198
DOI: 10.1520/JFS11402J