Direct injection ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the high-throughput determination of 11 illicit drugs and metabolites in wastewater

•A simple, rapid method for drugs in wastewater was developed firstly.•30µL wastewater was injected to UPLC-MS/MS directly.•LLOQs of 11 illicit drugs and metabolites ranged from 1 ng/L to 5 ng/L.•Small-volume direct injection is effective in wastewater analysis.