Determination of β-blockers and β-agonists using gas chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry – A comparative study of the derivatization step

There is a growing demand for the rapid screening of multiple β-blockers and β-agonists in a single analytical run in clinical toxicology, antidoping control, forensic and environmental science. Although GC–MS is very often used to determine pharmaceuticals from these groups of drugs, the literature data on the derivatization and MS analysis of mixtures of these compounds is limited. This paper compares and evaluates derivatization procedures...