Phencyclidine (PCP) is a cycloalkylamine and is classified as a dissociative anesthetic. In the1950s, PCP was tested as an intravenous anesthetic but due to its severe side effects, it was withdrawn from the clinical use. Since then PCP has become an illegal street drug making its laboratory analysis forensically essential. PCP can be detected in urine, serum, or plasma by immunoassays and quantified by gas or liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. In the method described here, a deuterated internal standard is added to the sample and the drug is extracted under alkaline conditions. Analysis is conducted using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Quantitation of PCP is done by comparing the responses of unknown samples to the standards using selected ion monitoring.
