Evaluation of infant exposure to psychoactive substances during lactation by toxicological analysis in breast milk.

Author(s)

Gabriela de Oliveira Silveira

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Conjunto das Químicas (IQ e FCF) (CQ/DBDCQ)
• Defense date: 2016-06-13

Examining board members

Maurício Yonamine; Karina Helena Morais Cardozo; Raphael Caio Tamborelli Garcia

• Advisor: Maurício Yonamine

Abstract

Maternal breastfeeding is related with nutritional, immunological, affective, economic, and social benefits. Most licit and illicit substances consumed by the nursing mother might be excreted in breast milk, which may cause potential harmful effects to the breastfed infant at short and long terms. Although the knowledge about the psychoactive substances during lactation is increasing, there is still few information on the levels in which these substances are excreted in breast milk and many questions about the possible effects of these substances in the infant during the nursing period still remain unanswered. Breast milk is an unconventional matrix that can be used to assess infant exposure to drugs, and its main advantage is its easy and non-invasive collection. However, the extraction of substances from breast milk is an analytical challenge because of its high protein and fat content and changing composition during the postpartum period. In this study, miniaturized analytical techniques will be carried out to determine psychoactive substances such as cocaine, cocaethylene, norcocaine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabinol, and cannabidiol in milk samples by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) was applied to cocaine analytes and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was applied to cannabinoids. After the development and validation, the methods were applied in milk samples collected from municipal hospital Dr. Arthur Ribeiro de Saboya (n=109). These techniques have proved to be suitable for analyte extraction and detection. Cocaine excretion in breast milk has been confirmed given that one sample was positive to cocaine in moderate amounts (138 ng/mL), as well as, two samples could be confirmed positive to tetrahydrocannabinol at 20 ng/mL and 31 ng/mL. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/04107-7 - Evaluation of infant exposure to psychoactive substances during lactation by toxicological analysis in breast milk
• Grantee: Gabriela de Oliveira Silveira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master