Revisiting ‘The Big Pain’

During the pandemic, drug testing laboratories faced unprecedented strain as resources shifted toward COVID-19 testing. This caused other forms of testing—such as routine employee drug screenings—to be temporarily deprioritized. Unfortunately, drug use continued to rise during this period, with post-accident positive results reported at higher rates than normal. Now, as operations return to pre-pandemic levels, drug testing has re-emerged as a critical focus for workplaces, healthcare, and law enforcement sectors alike.

Beyond workplace safety, drug and metabolite testing plays an essential role in clinical and forensic settings. Physicians often request confirmatory testing to monitor patient compliance with prescribed pain management regimens and to detect possible drug misuse or diversion. This renewed demand has driven the need for analytical methods that offer high sensitivity, accuracy, and throughput across comprehensive drug panels.

Analytical Methods for Drug Testing

Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is now widely recognized as the gold standard for drug and metabolite analysis due to its exceptional sensitivity and specificity compared to traditional immunoassay techniques. The Restek Raptor Biphenyl column is one of the most effective tools for this type of analysis, capable of delivering precise and reproducible results across a vast range of compounds.

The Raptor Biphenyl column has been used to develop LC-MS/MS methodologies for over 230 drugs and metabolites. Its advanced biphenyl stationary phase provides the necessary retention for diverse compound classes, making it ideal for complex drug panels. In typical workflows, forensic and clinical drug testing begins with a rapid qualitative screening to identify potential positives, followed by a quantitative confirmatory analysis using LC-MS/MS for accuracy and specificity.

Compared to traditional C18 columns, the Raptor Biphenyl offers superior selectivity for more than 40 structurally similar drugs and metabolites. While C18 phases rely primarily on hydrophobic (dispersive) interactions, biphenyl phases utilize π–π (pi–pi) interactions that enhance the separation of compounds containing fused ring systems and electron-withdrawing functional groups—common structural features in many pharmaceutical compounds. This results in improved retention and resolution across a broader chemical diversity, particularly for complex drug mixtures and biological matrices.

Chrom Tech: Your Partner in Drug Testing Solutions

Chrom Tech is proud to support laboratories with the latest innovations in chromatography and mass spectrometry. We supply high-quality consumables and instrumentation—such as the Restek Raptor Biphenyl column—designed to improve analytical precision, reliability, and efficiency in drug testing workflows.

For more information about the Raptor Biphenyl column and its applications in LC-MS/MS drug testing, review the Restek application note on our Chrom Tech resources page, or contact our product specialists for personalized support.