Rapid Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Morphine in the Street and Biological Samples Using Densitometry Scan of Thin Layer Chromatography

In recent years, the field of identifying and quickly determining the number of narcotics, including morphine, has grown significantly. This research aimed to provide a cheap, simple, and fast method for the quantitative identification of morphine in street samples and biological samples.

This experimental research was conducted in the laboratory of the Narcotics Department of the University of Police Sciences in the spring and summer of 2021. In this study, powder samples and urine samples containing morphine were tested to measure the amount of morphine by scanning the densitometry of TLC plates. Silica thin layer chromatography plates 60G F254 (Merck) and mobile phase including acetonitrile, methanol, and ammonia (1:2:17) for performing TLC tests, chloroform, and -2 propanol with a ratio of 9:1 for extraction, Camag TLC Scanner 3 device with software WinCATS 1.4.2.8121 was used for qualitative and quantitative analysis .

This method showed a distinct and separated band for morphine at RF equal to 16.2 mm. The calibration curve with a correlation coefficient of 0.9887 showed a favorable linear relationship between the area under the peak of morphine and the concentration of spots in the range of 1-6 µg/spot. This method showed an acceptable detection limit, precision, and accuracy for measuring morphine in street and urine samples.

Scanning densitometry thin layer chromatography is a rapid and inexpensive screening method for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of morphine in the street and urine samples.