Integrity testing of hair samples

摘要

Methods for assessing the condition of keratinized structures, including hair, in particular methods to determine the condition of keratinized structures in relation to suitability for analysis of analytes of interest in a test sample, are presented. The methods comprise contacting the keratinized structure with a non-proteolytic reducing agent and an optional proteolytic agent. The methods further include inspection of the hair sample, or measurement of free protein eluted from the keratinized structure, after reduction and optional proteolysis to determine condition prior to analyte identification and quantitation by known techniques such as immunoassays.

主权项

1. A method for determining the presence or absence of a drug of abuse or metabolite thereof in a hair sample of a subject comprising:
providing a hair sample from the subject; contacting the hair sample with an aqueous solution comprising a reducing agent to result in a test sample; subjecting the aqueous portion of the test sample to denaturing conditions; measuring the absorption at a wavelength of about 300 nm (A300) to about 380 nm (A380) of the subjected aqueous portion and comparing the measured absorbance value to the absorbance value of a control sample to determine if the hair sample is suitable for further processing; and determining if an analyte is present or absent in a hair sample identified as suitable for further processing to determine the presence or absence of a drug of abuse or metabolite thereof in the hair sample.