Detection of Illegal Abortion-Induced Drugs Using Rapid and Simultaneous Method for the Determination of Abortion-Induced Compounds by LC–MS/MS

With an increase in the number of individuals opting for illegal abortion, the use of counterfeit abortion medicines is increasing throughout the black market. In the present study, a rapid and simultaneous liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for detecting abortion-inducing drugs in counterfeit medicines was developed. The parameters used for validating the method using tablet-, powder- and capsule-type matrix-blank samples were limit of detection (0.10–5.00 ng/mL), limit of quantitation (0.31–15.00 ng/mL), linearity ( r 2 > 0.998), recovery of spiked matrix-blank samples (83.1–114.5%), intraday and interday accuracy (86.4–113.5%) and precision (≤ 9.7% RSD) and stability (≤ 13.3% RSD). Seized tablet-type drugs, advertised for their abortion-inducing activity, were analysed using an established method and were observed to be adulterated with mifepristone and misoprostol in a concentration of 0.02–293.80 mg/g, which can pose a risk to public health. This study demonstrates the successful application of a fast and reliable screening method for detecting illegal abortion-inducing drugs.