서민경 (식품의약품안전평가원)

김현경 (식품의약품안전평가원)

류금주 (식품의약품안전평가원)

서민경 (식품의약품안전평가원)

김형수 (식품의약품안전평가원)

김현경 (식품의약품안전평가원)

Local anesthetic compounds used to be mixed with counterfeit products and distributed as legitimate pharmaceuticals. In this study, gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF MS) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods were used together to determine 18 local anesthetics and identify illegal products. First, the GC-TOF MS method was performed to determine the fragmentation patterns and structures of the 18 compounds. Subsequently, GC-MS method was carried out to quantify each compound. The GC-MS method was thoroughly validated for specificity, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy, precision, and recovery. Various types of samples, such as liquid, cream, and other forms, were analyzed and 65.6% (40/61) of samples were contaminated with local anesthetics. Lidocaine was frequently identified in the analyzed samples, with a detection range of 0.153–164.0 mg/g. In addition, the concentration ranges for prilocaine, procaine, and tetracaine were confiremed to be 0.41–1.28, 2.29–2.43, and 1.83–16.3 mg/g, respectively. Eugenol was detected in a single sample at 3.45 mg/g. Moreover, three compounds were detected in one sample, adversely affecting human health when used in combination. The proposed analytical methods may contribute to preventing the distribution of illegal products containing pharmaceutical compounds.