Analysis of purity and cutting agents in street mephedrone samples from South Wales

Electrochemical profiling and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry characterization of synthetic cathinones: From methodology to detection in forensic samples

The emergence of new psychoactive drugs in the market demands rapid and accurate tools for the on-site classification of illegal and legal compounds with similar structures. Herein, a novel method for the classification of synthetic cathinones (SCs) is presented based on their electrochemical profile. First, the electrochemical profile of five common SC (i.e., mephedrone, ethcathinone, methylone, butylone, and 4-chloro-alpha-pyrrolidinovalerophenone) is collected to build calibration curves using square wave voltammetry on graphite screen-printed electrodes (SPEs). Second, the elucidation of the oxidation pathways, obtained by liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry, allows the pairing of the oxidation products to the SC electrochemical profile, providing a selective and robust classification. Additionally, the effect of common adulterants and illicit drugs on the electrochemical profile of the SC is explored. Interestingly, a cathodic pretreatment of the SPE allows the selective detection of each SC in presence of electroactive adulterants. Finally, the electrochemical approach is validated with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry by analyzing 26 confiscated samples from seizures and illegal webshops. Overall, the electrochemical method exhibits a successful classification of SC including structural derivatives, a crucial attribute in an ever-diversifying drug market.

Mephedrone and MDMA: A comparative review

Mephedrone and MDMA are both constituents of party drugs, with mephedrone being relatively new compared to MDMA. This review compares current knowledge regarding the patterns of usage and neuropsychobiological effects of both mephedrone and MDMA. Both drugs share common psychoactive effects, the duration of which is significantly shorter with mephedrone use, attributing towards a pattern of binge use among users. Both drugs have also been associated with adverse health, psychiatric, and neurocognitive problems. Whilst there is extensive research into the psychobiological problems induced by MDMA, the evidence for mephedrone is comparatively limited. The adverse effect profile of mephedrone appears to be less severe than that of MDMA. Users often believe it to be safer, although both drugs have been associated with overdoses. The neurotoxic potential of mephedrone appears to be low, whereas MDMA can cause long-term damage to the serotonergic system, although this needs further investigation. The abuse liability of mephedrone is significantly greater than that of MDMA, raising concerns regarding the impact of lifetime usage on users. Given that mephedrone is relatively new, the effects of long-term exposure are yet to be documented. Future research focused on lifetime users may highlight more severe neuropsychobiological effects from the drug.

Synthetic cathinones: an evolving class of new psychoactive substances

Synthetic cathinones (SCat) are amphetamine-like psychostimulants that emerged onto drug markets as "legal" alternatives to illicit drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine, and amphetamines. Usually they are sold as "bath salts," "plant food," or "research chemicals," and rapidly gained popularity amongst drugs users due to their potency, low cost, and availability. In addition, internet drug sales have been replacing the old way of supplying drugs of abuse, contributing to their rapid spread. Despite the legislative efforts to control SCat, new derivatives continue to emerge on the recreational drugs market and their abuse still represents a serious public health issue. To date, about 150 SCat have been identified on the clandestine drugs market, which are one of the largest groups of new psychoactive substances (NPS) monitored by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Similar to the classical stimulants, SCat affect the levels of catecholamines in the central nervous system, which results in their psychological, behavioral and toxic effects. Generally, the effects of SCat greatly differ from drug to drug and relatively little information is available about their pharmacology. The present work provides a review on the development of SCat as substances of abuse, current patterns of abuse and their legal status, chemical classification, known mechanisms of action, and their toxicological effects.

A new approach towards biomarker selection in estimation of human exposure to chiral chemicals: a case study of mephedrone

Wastewater-based epidemiology is an innovative approach to estimate public health status using biomarker analysis in wastewater. A new compound detected in wastewater can be a potential biomarker of an emerging trend in public health. However, it is currently difficult to select new biomarkers mainly due to limited human metabolism data. This manuscript presents a new framework, which enables the identification and selection of new biomarkers of human exposure to drugs with scarce or unknown human metabolism data. Mephedrone was targeted to elucidate the assessment of biomarkers for emerging drugs of abuse using a four-step analytical procedure. This framework consists of: (i) identification of possible metabolic biomarkers present in wastewater using an in-vivo study; (ii) verification of chiral signature of the target compound; (iii) confirmation of human metabolic residues in in-vivo/vitro studies and (iv) verification of stability of biomarkers in wastewater. Mephedrone was selected as a suitable biomarker due to its high stability profile in wastewater. Its enantiomeric profiling was studied for the first time in biological and environmental matrices, showing stereoselective metabolism of mephedrone in humans. Further biomarker candidates were also proposed for future investigation: 4′-carboxy-mephedrone, 4′-carboxy-normephedrone, 1-dihydro-mephedrone, 1-dihydro-normephedrone and 4′-hydroxy-normephedrone.

Intended and unintended use of cathinone mixtures

INTRODUCTION

Cathinones are one of the most popular categories of new psychoactive substances (NPS) consumed. Cathinones have different pharmacological activities and receptor selectivity for monoamine transporters based on their chemical structures. They are incorporated into NPS mixtures and used with other NPS or 'traditional' drugs. Cathinone use represents significant health risks to individuals and is a public health burden.

METHODS

Evidence of poly-NPS use with cathinones, seizure information, and literature analyses results on NPS mixtures was systematically gathered from online database sources, including Google Scholar, Scopus, Bluelight, and Drugs-Forum.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results highlight the prevalence of NPS with low purity, incorporation of cathinones into NPS mixtures since 2008, and multiple members of the cathinone family being present in individual UK-seized samples. Cathinones were identified as adulterants in NPS marketed as being pure NPS, drugs of abuse, branded products, herbal blends, and products labelled "not for human consumption." Toxicity resulting from cathinone mixtures is unpredictable because key attributes remain largely unknown. Symptoms of intoxication include neuro-psychological, psychiatric, and metabolic symptoms. Proposed treatment includes holistic approaches involving psychosocial, psychiatric and pharmacological interventions.

CONCLUSION

Raising awareness of NPS, education, and training of health care professionals are paramount in reducing harms related to cathinone use.

Organic impurity profiling of methylone and intermediate compounds synthesized from catechol

This work examined the synthesis and organic impurity profile of methylone prepared from catechol. The primary aim of this work was to determine whether the synthetic pathway used to prepare 3,4-methylenedioxypropiophenone could be ascertained through analysis of the synthesized methylone. The secondary aim was the structural elucidation and origin determination of the organic impurities detected in methylone and the intermediate compounds. The organic impurities present in the reaction products were identified using GC-MS and NMR spectroscopy. Six organic impurities were detected in 1,3-benzodioxole and identified as the 1,3-benzodioxole dimer, 1,3-benzodioxole trimer, [1,3] dioxolo[4,5-b]oxanthrene, 4,4'-, 4,5'-, and 5,5'-methylenebis-1,3-benzodioxole. Six organic impurities were detected in 3,4-methylenedioxypropiophenone and identified as (2-hydroxyphenyl) propanoate, [2-(chloromethoxy) phenyl] propanoate, (2-propanoyloxyphenyl)propanoate, 5-[1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)prop-1-enyl]-1,3-benzodioxole, (5E)- and (5Z)-7-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-5-ethylidene-6-methyl-cyclopenta[f][1,3]benzodioxole). Exploratory synthetic experiments were also conducted to unambiguously identify the organic impurities detected in 3,4-methylenedioxypropiophenone. Two organic impurities were detected in 5-bromo-3,4-methylenedioxypropiophenone and identified as [2-(chloromethoxy)phenyl] propanoate and 3,4-methylenedioxypropiophenone. Five organic impurities were detected in methylone and identified as 3,4-methylenedioxypropiophenone, 1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-N-methyl-propan-1-imine, 1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-2-methylimino-propan-1-one, 1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-N1,N2-dimethyl-propane-1,2-diimine and butylated hydroxytoluene. The origin of these organic impurities was also ascertained, providing valuable insight into the chemical profiles of methylone and the intermediate compounds. However, neither the catechol precursor nor the 1,3-benzodioxole intermediate could be identified based on the organic impurities detected in the synthesized methylone using standard techniques. This demonstrated that the organic impurity profiling of methylone had limitations in the determination of precursor chemical and synthetic pathways used. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Wastewater-Based Epidemiology To Monitor Synthetic Cathinones Use in Different European Countries

Synthetic cathinones are among the most consumed new psychoactive substances (NPS), but their increasing number and interchangeable market make it difficult to estimate the real size of their consumption. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) through the analysis of metabolic residues of these substances in urban wastewater can provide this information. This study applied WBE for the first time to investigate the presence of 17 synthetic cathinones in four European countries. A method based on solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry was developed, validated, and used to quantify the target analytes. Seven substances were found, with mephedrone and methcathinone being the most frequently detected and none of the analytes being found in Norway. Population-normalized loads were used to evaluate the pattern of use, which indicated a higher consumption in the U.K., followed by Spain and Italy, in line with the European prevalence data from population surveys. In the U.K., where an entire week was investigated, an increase of the loads was found during the weekend, indicating a preferential use in recreational contexts. This study demonstrated that WBE can be a useful additional tool to monitor the use of NPS in a population.

4F-PBP (4'-fluoro-α-pyrrolidinobutyrophenone), a new substance of abuse: Structural characterization and purity NMR profiling

The rapidly growing problem of new psychoactive substances (NPS) makes the time management for international control a real challenge, with the traditional detection methods becoming increasingly inadequate. NPS screening technologies, such as NMR, which allows multiple substances to be detected, characterized and quantified simultaneously from a single sample, offers a rapid solution to this problem. This study describes the application of NMR to the simultaneous detection, characterization and quantification of samples of white powders seized by the Portuguese Police. 4F-PBP (4'-fluoro-α-pyrolidinobutyrophenone) a new synthetic psychoactive cathinone cut with myo-inositol was found in two seized products. The structural characterization of 4F-PBP was elucidated in the mixture, and confirmed after isolation from the matrix by (1)H, (13)C, (19)F NMR and MS. Myo-inositol was found for the first time as a cutting agent of cathinones. Furthermore another seized product was characterized as being MDPBP, with a high degree of purity, and its spectroscopic elucidation enabled the correction of (13)C NMR literature assignments.

Postmortem distribution of MAB-CHMINACA in body fluids and solid tissues of a human cadaver

During the latter part of 2014, we experienced an autopsy case in which 5-fluoro-ADB, one of the most dangerous synthetic cannabinoids, was identified and quantitated in solid tissues and in three herbal blend products [Forensic Toxicol (2015) 33:112-121]. At that time, although we suspected that there may be some drug(s) other than 5-fluoro-ADB in the herbal products, all trials to find it/them were unsuccessful. Subsequently, we carefully re-examined the presence of other synthetic cannabinoid(s) in the above herbal blend products using accurate mass spectrometry and found two new compounds, 5-fluoro-ADB-PINACA and MAB-CHMINACA (Forensic Toxicol. doi: 10.1007/s 11419-015-0264-y). In the present communication, we report the distribution of MAB-CHMINACA in body fluids and solid tissue specimens collected from the same deceased individual (kept frozen at -80 °C) as described above for demonstration of 5-fluoro-ADB. Unexpectedly, unchanged MAB-CHMINACA could be identified and quantitated in whole blood and in pericardial fluid specimens, but it was below the detection limit (0.1 ng/ml) in the urine specimen. A higher concentration of MAB-CHMINACA could be found in all of the nine solid tissues; the highest concentration of MAB-CHMINACA was found in the liver (156 ng/g), followed by the kidney, pancreas and so on. The compounds were detected in all nine solid tissues; their levels were generally higher than those in the whole blood and pericardial fluid. Contrary to expectations, the concentration of MAB-CHMINACA in the adipose tissue was relatively low. Our results show that the victim smoked one of the three herbal blend products containing both MAB-CHMINACA and 5-fluoro-ADB, resulting in the coexistence of both compounds. It should be concluded that 5-fluoro-ADB and MAB-CHMINACA synergically exerted their toxicities, leading to death after a short interval. The differences in the distribution of 5-fluoro-ADB and MAB-CHMINACA among the cadaver specimens were also discussed in view of the structures of both compounds. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate MAB-CHMINACA in biological/human specimens.