Detection of Acute Diazepam Exposure in Bone and Marrow: Influence of Tissue Type and the Dose-Death Interval on Sensitivity of Detection by ELISA with Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry Confirmation*
Preliminary aspects of this work was presented as a poster presentation for the Young Forensic Scientists’ Forum at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, February 18–22, 2008, Washington, DC.
Abstract
Abstract: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) were used to detect diazepam exposure in skeletal tissues of rats (n = 15) given diazepam acutely (20 mg/kg, i.p.), and killed at various times postdose. Marrow, epiphyseal, and diaphyseal bone were isolated from extracted femora. Bone was cleaned, ground, and incubated in methanol. Marrow underwent ultrasonic homogenization. Extracts and homogenates were diluted in phosphate buffer, and then underwent solid-phase extraction and ELISA. Relative sensitivity of detection was examined in terms of relative decrease in absorbance (ELISA) and binary classification sensitivity (ELISA and LC/MS/MS). Overall, the data showed differences in relative sensitivity of detection of diazepam exposure in different tissue types (marrow > epiphyseal bone > diaphyseal bone), which is suggestive of heterogenous distribution in these tissues, and a decreasing sensitivity with increasing dose-death interval. Thus, the tissue type sampled and dose-death interval may contribute to the probability of detection of diazepam exposure in skeletal tissues.
