UHPLC Determination of Drugs of Abuse in Human Biological Matrices

All over the world, drug consumption and abuse are dramatically and continuously increasing. This chapter summarizes the most diffused drugs and illicit substances in their principal classes, based on both chemical structure and action. It provides general information of the class, their main components, and the most relevant metabolites. The chapter lists some substances both in the chemical class and in the class concerning their effects on the organism. As very often drugs and illicit substances are taken under their complex mixtures, the simultaneous determination in biological matrices of many drugs, their metabolites, and illicit substances can offer a wide over of the patient situation and often helps to understand which precursor drugs the subject has consumed. The chapter talks about the ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) methods devoted to simultaneous determination of drugs, metabolites, illicit substances, and pharmaceuticals.