Ten Years of Fentanyl-like Drugs: a Technical-analytical Review

Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry with On-Paper Electrokinetic Manipulations: Part-Per-Trillion Detection of Per/Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Water and Opioids in Urine

We developed a simple, paper-based device that enables sensitive detection by mass spectrometry (MS) without solid phase extraction or other sample preparation. Using glass fiber filter papers within a 3D printed holder, the device employs electrokinetic manipulations to stack, separate, and desalt charged molecules on paper prior to spray into the MS. Due to counter-balanced electroosmotic flow and electrophoresis, charged analytes stack on the paper and desalting occurs in minutes. One end of the paper strip was cut into a sharp point and positioned near the inlet of a MS. The stacked analyte bands move toward the paper tip with the EOF where they are ionized by paper spray. The device was applied to analysis of PFAS in tap water with sub part-per-trillion detection limits in less than ten minutes with no sample pretreatment. Analysis of opioids in urine also occurs in minutes. The crucial parameters to enable stacking, separation, and MS ionization of both positively and negatively charged analytes were determined and optimized. Experimental and computational modeling studies confirm the electrokinetic stacking and analyte transport mechanisms. On-paper separations were carried out by stacking analyte bands at different locations depending on their electrophoretic mobility, achieving baseline separation in some cases.

Non-fentanyl new synthetic opioids - An update

BACKGROUND

New synthetic opioids (NSO) constitute one of the fastest-growing group of New Psychoactive Substances, which emerged on the illicit drug marker in the second half of 2000's. The most popular and the largest NSO subgroup are high potency fentanyl and its analogs. Subsequent to core-structure scheduling of fentanyl-related substances many opioids with different chemical structures are now emerging on the illicit drug market, rendering the landscape highly complex and dynamic.

METHODS

PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar were searched for appropriate articles up to December 2022. Moreover, a search for reports was conducted on Institutional websites to identify documentation published by World Health Organization, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Only articles or reports written in English were selected.

RESULTS

Non-fentanyl derived synthetic opioids, i.e., 2-benzylbenzimidazoles (nitazenes), brorphine, U-compounds, AH-7921, MT-45 and related compounds are characterized, describing them in terms of available forms, pharmacology, metabolism as well as their toxic effects. Sample procedures and analytical techniques available for detection and quantification of these compounds in biological matrices are also presented. Finally, as overdoses involving highly potent NSO may be difficult to reverse, the effectiveness of naloxone as a rescue agent in NSO overdose is discussed.

CONCLUSIONS

Current review presents key information on non-fentanyl derived NSO. Access to upto-date data on substances of abuse is of great importance for clinicians, public health authorities and professionals performing analyses of biological samples.

High-Precision Automatic Identification of Fentanyl-Related Drugs by Terahertz Spectroscopy with Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Spectral Similarity Mapping

Fentanyl is a potent opioid analgesic with high bioavailability. It is the leading cause of drug addiction and overdose death. To better control the abuse of fentanyl and its derivatives, it is crucial to develop rapid and sensitive detection methods. However, fentanyl-related substrates undergo similar molecular structures resulting in similar properties, which are difficult to be identified by conventional spectroscopic methods. In this work, a method for the automatic identification of 8 fentanyl-related substances with similar spectral characteristics was developed using terahertz (THz) spectroscopy coupled with density functional theory (DFT) and spectral similarity mapping (SSM). To characterize the THz fingerprints of these fentanyl-related samples more accurately, the method of baseline estimation and denoising with sparsity was performed before revealing the unique molecular dynamics of each substance by DFT. The SSM method was proposed to identify these fentanyl analogs based on weighted spectral cosine–cross similarity and fingerprint discrete Fréchet distance, generating a matching list by stepwise searching the entire spectral database. The top matched list returned the identification results of the target fentanyl analogs with accuracies of 94.48~99.33%. Results from this work provide algorithms’ increased reliability, which serves as an artificial intelligence-based tool for high-precision fentanyl analysis in real-world samples.

Preparation of bamboo-derived magnetic biochar for solid-phase microextraction of fentanyls from urine

In this study, a biochar-based magnetic solid-phase microextraction method, coupled with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS), was developed for analyzing fentanyl analogs from urine sample. Magnetic biochar was fabricated through an one-step pyrolysis carbonization and magnetization process, followed by an alkali treatment. In order to achieve desired extraction efficiency, feed stocks (wood and bamboo) and different pyrolysis temperatures (300-700 °C) were optimized. The magnetic bamboo biochar pyrolyzed at 400°C was found to have the greatest potential for extraction of fentanyls, with enrichment factors ranging from 58.9 to 93.7, presumably due to H-bonding and π- π interactions between biochar and fentanyls. Various extraction parameters, such as type and volume of desorption solvent, pH, extraction time were optimized, respectively, to achieve the highest extraction efficiency for the target fentanyls. Under optimized conditions, the developed method was found to have detection limits of 3.1-9.4 ng/L, a linear range of 0.05-10 μg/L, good precisions (1.9-9.4% for intra-batch, 2.9-9.9% for inter-batch), and satisfactory recoveries (82.0-111.3%). The developed method by using magnetic bamboo biochar as adsorbent exhibited to be an efficient and promising pretreatment procedure and could potentially be applied for drug analysis in biological samples. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Electroanalysis of Fentanyl and Its New Analogs: A Review

The review describes fentanyl and its analogs as new synthetic opioids and the possibilities of their identification and determination using electrochemical methods (e.g., voltammetry, potentiometry, electrochemiluminescence) and electrochemical methods combined with various separation methods. The review also covers the analysis of new synthetic opioids, their parent compounds, and corresponding metabolites in body fluids, such as urine, blood, serum, and plasma, necessary for a fast and accurate diagnosis of intoxication. Identifying and quantifying these addictive and illicit substances and their metabolites is necessary for clinical, toxicological, and forensic purposes. As a reaction to the growing number of new synthetic opioid intoxications and increasing fatalities observed over the past ten years, we provide thorough background for developing new biosensors, screen-printed electrodes, or other point-of-care devices.

Application and Clinical Value of Definitive Drug Monitoring in Pain Management and Addiction Medicine

OBJECTIVE

To assess routine application and clinical value of definitive urine drug monitoring (UDM) for drug detection, inconsistent drug use and prescription adherence, along with a comparison to immunoassay screening (IAS).

METHODS

Direct-to-definitive UDM performance was analyzed retrospectively in 5,000 patient specimens. Drug findings, medication inconsistencies and detection sensitivity were assessed, and definitive UDM versus IAS monitoring was studied.

RESULTS

Definitive testing resulted in 18,793 drug findings with 28,403 positive drug and metabolite tests. Definitive testing expanded monitoring with 11,396 drug findings that would not be tested by IAS. The opioids accounted for the highest frequency of inconsistent positive drug-use findings, at 12%. Conversely, inconsistent negative drug findings, used as an index of prescription non-adherence, were determined in 1,751 of 15,409 monitored medications and included a high frequency of antidepressants and antipsychotics inconsistencies. Direct comparison of definitive UDM and IAS showed false-positives by IAS as well as a high rate of false-negatives that would be missed using current confirmation protocols.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from routine application of direct-to-definitive UDM demonstrate the clinical value of drug-use identification and objective evaluation of inconsistencies in drug misuse and medication adherence in pain management and addiction medicine practice. Without conversion to direct-to-definitive UDM, continuing use of IAS will limit the scope of drugs being tested, will result in an indeterminate rate of false negatives and will require confirmation testing to eliminate the reporting of false positive IAS tests. The findings in this study provide evidence-based support for recommended use of a direct-to-definitive drug testing protocol.

Optimization of Analytical Procedure for In-hospital Rapid Quantification of Serum Level of Favipiravir in the Pharmacological Treatment of COVID-19

An in-hospital rapid method for quantifying the serum level of favipiravir (FPV) in the pharmacological treatment of COVID-19 was developed by an appropriate combination of a solid-phase extraction treatment and a reversed-phase HPLC/UV detection system. The quantification method was well-validated and applied to measuring the serum FPV level in a clinical practice at a general hospital that accepts COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, an analysis of data from our preliminary interaction analysis revealed, for the first time, that FPV selectively forms complexes with ferric (Fe³⁺) and cupric (Cu²⁺) ions.

Development and early identification of Cannabis chemotypes during the plant growth: current analytical and chemometric approaches

The identification of cannabis chemotypes at an early stage of a plant's growth, which is long before anthesis, has been intensively pursued in order to control the on-target selection of the cultivar type at the beginning of cultivation, so as to avoid economic and legal drawbacks. However, this issue has been systematically addressed by only few and relatively recent studies of analytical chemistry, possibly because result validations require long-term monitoring of the content and ratio of cannabinoids and terpenes in a great number of plant specimens suitably selected and grown. Here, we review the procedures, the chromatographic techniques and the statistics used in topical investigations during the past thirteen years. Through heterogeneous and not easily comparable approaches, they prove the feasibility of chemotypes safe determination within the first month of a plant's life.

Quantitative analysis of 20 fentanyl analogues by modified QuEChERS-LC-MS/MS in health products and transdermal patches

The spreading of narcotics especially illicit novel psychoactive substances is a continuing problem in recent years. In response to reduce the morbidity and crime related to fentanyl analogues, the accurate measurement of fentanyl analogues concentrations is significantly important in the analytical laboratories for customs checks and clinical application. In this work, ethyl acetate was selected as extraction solvent, 50 mg of PSA, 100 mg of C18, and 10 mg of GCB were optimized for purification. A modified QuEChERS extraction method followed by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with the mode of multiple reaction monitoring has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 20 fentanyl analogues in collagen peptides, slimming capsules and fentanyl transdermal patches. The limits of detection (LODs) varied from 0.004 to 0.02 μg L^-1 with relative standard deviations of 4.89-11.4 % and showed good linearity in the range of 0.02-10 μg L^-1 and 0.01-1.00 mg L^-1, respectively. The recoveries for 20 fentanyl analogues in the low (at μg L^-1 level) and high (at mg L^-1 level) concentration spiked samples were in the range of 77.7-114 % and 83.9-116 %, which demonstrated the application potential of the proposed method for the determination of fentanyl analogues with low and high concentration in real case samples. In addition, the matrix effect and the cross-reactivity were also proved to not interfere with quantitation of targeted fentanyl analogues. Thus, the developed method showed high sensitivity and good accuracy, which makes it suitable for the rapid detection of fentanyl analogues for customs and border service as well as pharmaceuticals.

Determination of Fentanyl, Alpha-Methylfentanyl, Beta-Hydroxyfentanyl, and the Metabolite Norfentanyl in Rat Urine by LC-MS/MS

Fentanyl and its analogs are potent synthetic opioids with a high potential for abuse and dependence. They have become major contributors to opioid deaths. This study aimed to determine whether the metabolites of fentanyl, alpha-methylfentanyl and beta-hydroxyfentanyl, excreted in the urine, can demonstrate historical drug exposure. Fentanyl is primarily metabolized via CYP3A4 into norfentanyl, although there is little research on its metabolism into alpha-methylfentanyl and beta-hydroxyfentanyl. We conducted in vitro experiments with human liver microsomes (HLM) and rat liver microsomes (RLM) to elucidate the major metabolic pathways of alpha-methylfentanyl and beta-hydroxyfentanyl using UHPLC coupled with mass spectrometry. The results showed that both alpha-methylfentanyl and beta-hydroxyfentanyl were predominantly metabolized into norfentanyl in HLM and RLM. Urine samples were collected at different intervals from 0 h to 72 h after intravenous administration of alpha-methylfentanyl and beta-hydroxyfentanyl (20 μg/kg) to Sprague-Dawley rats. We prepared the samples by liquid-liquid extraction, and the internal standard (IS) was cariprazine. A sensitive, rapid LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated to determine four analytes in the urine. The lower limit of qualification (LLOQ) in urine was 2 pg/ml for fentanyl, 5 pg/ml for alpha-methylfentanyl, 10 pg/ml for beta-hydroxyfentanyl, and 40 pg/ml for norfentanyl. The analytical range was 0.002-2 ng/ml for fentanyl, 0.005-5 ng/ml for alpha-methylfentanyl, 0.01-10 ng/ml for beta-hydroxyfentany and 0.04-40 ng/ml for norfentanyl. All analytes demonstrated good linearity (R2 > 0.99). The extraction recoveries were in the 67.8%-92.1% range, and the IS-normalized matrix effects were between 55.5%-74.0% (CV < 15%). Our data indicated that norfentanyl has a higher concentration in rat urine and was detectable for at least three days after exposure to these compounds. This developed method may be useful in various fields, including forensic analysis, workplace drug testing, and monitoring drug abuse.

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of cyclopropylfentanyl in male rats

BACKGROUND

Illicitly manufactured fentanyl and its analogs are a major driving force behind the ongoing opioid crisis. Cyclopropylfentanyl is a fentanyl analog associated with many overdose deaths, but limited knowledge is available about its pharmacology. In the present study, we developed a bioanalytical method for the determination of cyclopropylfentanyl and its main metabolite cyclopropylnorfentanyl and evaluated pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationships in rats.

METHOD

An ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for determination of cyclopropylfentanyl and cyclopropylnorfentanyl in rat plasma. Male Sprague-Dawley rats fitted with jugular catheters and temperature transponders received cyclopropylfentanyl (30, 100, and 300 μg/kg) or saline subcutaneously. Blood specimens were withdrawn over an 8-h time period, along with measurements of pharmacodynamic endpoints.

RESULTS

The analytical method was validated, and both analytes exhibited a low limit of quantification (15 pg/mL). Cyclopropylfentanyl caused dose-related increases in hot plate latency (ED₅₀ = 48 µg/kg) and catalepsy (ED₅₀ = 87 µg/kg) and produced long-lasting hypothermia at the highest dose. Plasma cyclopropylfentanyl rose rapidly in a dose-related fashion, reaching maximal concentration (C_max) after 15-28 min, whereas metabolite Cmax occurred later at 45-90 min. Cyclopropylfentanyl C_max values were similar to concentrations measured in non-fatal intoxications in humans; however, differences in parent drug: metabolite ratio indicated possible interspecies variance in metabolism.

CONCLUSION

Our study shows that cyclopropylfentanyl produces typical opioid-like effects in male rats. Cyclopropylfentanyl displays much greater analgesic potency when compared to morphine, suggesting that cyclopropylfentanyl poses increased overdose risk for unsuspecting users.

Screening Method for the Quality Evaluation of Cannabidiols in Water-based Products Using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A sensitive, useful and preliminary screening method was proposed to quantitate the containable cannabinoids most commonly included in mineral water and gummi candy products, specifically cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCA), cannabigerol (CBG), and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for quality evaluations. Based on the electrospray positive ion mode, the limit of detection and the limit of quantification values were 0.2 to 0.5 ng/mL and 0.8 and 2.0 ng/mL. Samples (0.5 g) were diluted by water/methanol (50/50), to which stable isotope internal standards were added; the recovery results appeared in range from 91.3 to 101.2%. This method was applied to evaluate CBD products (6 kinds) from the Japanese market. Our survey found obvious discrepancies between the labeling and the results were overserved in products. In addition, CBN, THCA, CBG, and CBDA were not detected in full-spectrum products that contained various cannabinoids that naturally occur in the cannabis plant. Thus, it is necessary to be able to verify the accurate concentration and impurity in various CBD products from the Japanese market as quickly as possible.

Analysis of 17 fentanyls in plasma and blood by UPLC-MS/MS with interpretation of findings in surgical and postmortem casework

The opioid crisis is linked to an increased misuse of fentanyl as well as fentanyl analogs that originate from the illicit drug market. Much of our current understanding of fentanyl and fentanyl analog use in our communities comes from postmortem toxicology findings. In the clinical settings of addiction medicine and pain management, where the opioid abuse potential is high, the use of fentanyl, as well as specific fentanyl analogs, may be underestimated due to limited plasma testing and limited availability of assays with suitable analytical sensitivity and selectivity to detect misuse of fentanyls. We report plasma and blood assays for 17 fentanyls (these include fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, fentanyl metabolites and synthetic precursors) in clinical, and medical examiner, casework. A mixed-mode solid phase extraction of diluted plasma or precipitated blood was optimized for maximum recovery of the fentanyls with minimized matrix effects. Analysis was performed using a Waters ACQUITY UPLC I-Class interfaced with a Waters Xevo TQ-S micro tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer. Method parameters were optimized and validated for precision, accuracy, carryover, linearity and matrix effects. Application studies were performed in postmortem blood obtained in 44 fentanyl-related fatalities and in serial plasma samples from 18 surgical patients receiving intravenous fentanyl therapy while undergoing parathyroidectomy. Fentanyls found in postmortem cases included fentanyl, norfentanyl, despropionyl-fentanyl (4-ANPP), beta-hydroxy fentanyl (β-OH fentanyl), acetyl fentanyl, acetyl norfentanyl, methoxyacetyl fentanyl, furanyl fentanyl, cyclopropyl fentanyl, and para-fluorobutyryl fentanyl, with fentanyl, norfentanyl, 4-ANPP and β-OH fentanyl predominating in frequency. Fentanyl concentrations ranged from 0.2 to 56 ng/mL and fentanyl was nearly always found with 4-ANPP, norfentanyl and β-OH fentanyl. Concentrations of other fentalogs ranged from <1 to 84 ng/mL (extrapolated). In the surgical cases, fentanyl was detected and quantified along with norfentanyl and β-OH fentanyl, but without detection of 4-ANPP in any of the samples. The association and relative concentrations of β-OH fentanyl, fentanyl and norfentanyl in the postmortem and clinical studies indicated a metabolic, rather than an illicit, source of β-OH fentanyl.

Recent bionalytical methods for the determination of new psychoactive substances in biological specimens

One of the problems associated with the consumption of new psychoactive substances is that in most scenarios of acute toxicity the possibility of quick clinical action may be impaired because many screening methods are not responsive to them, and laboratories are not able to keep pace with the appearance of new substances. For these reasons, developing and validating new analytical methods is mandatory in order to efficiently face those problems, allowing laboratories to be one step ahead. The goal of this work is to perform a critical review regarding bionalytical methods that can be used for the determination of new psychoactive substances (phenylethylamines, cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids, opioids, benzodiazepines, etc), particularly concerning sample preparation techniques and associated analytical methods.

Simultaneous separation and determination of 32 fentanyl-related substances, including seven sets of isomeric fentanyl analogues, by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry

A method for separation and determination of 32 fentanyl-related substances, including seven sets of isomeric fentanyl analogues, was developed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry. The collision energy, chromatographic column, and mobile phase were optimized. All compounds were efficiently flushed out of a universal C18 column with a soft gradient consisting of solvent A (2 mM ammonium formate and 0.1% formic acid in water) and solvent B (2 mM ammonium formate and 0.1% formic acid in methanol) in only 20 min, achieving excellent resolution. Detection and analysis were carried out simultaneously in the positive ion mode using the full scan and data-dependent tandem mass spectrometry modes with a normalized collision energy of 40. The method was validated in terms of limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity, accuracy, and precision. For all fentanyl-related substances, the limit of detection (0.5 ng/mL) and limit of quantification (1 ng/mL) were adequate for screening and quantification in daily drug control. Calibration curves for all compounds were established in the range of 1-500 ng/mL. The intra- and interday precision (RSD%) were within 0.4-2.3 and 0.7-2.7%, respectively. The accuracy ranged from 99 to 106%. The method was applied to analyze seized drug samples.

Determination of 37 fentanyl analogues and novel synthetic opioids in hair by UHPLC-MS/MS and its application to authentic cases

The recent emergence of new fentanyl analogues and synthetic opioids on the drug market poses a global public health threat. However, these compounds cannot typically be identified using existing analytical methods. In this study, we aimed to develop and validate a rapid and sensitive method based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) for the simultaneous determination of 37 fentanyl analogues and novel synthetic opioids in hair samples. Hair samples (20 mg) were extracted by cryogenic grinding in an extraction medium of methanol, acetonitrile, and 2 mmol/L ammonium acetate (pH 5.3). Following centrifugation of the samples, the analytes were separated using a WATERS Acquity UPLC HSS T₃ column. The limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) ranged from 0.5 to 2.5 pg/mg and from 2 to 5 pg/mg, respectively. The intraday and interday precisions were within 13.32% at LOQ, low, medium, and high levels. The accuracies were within the range of 85.63–116.1%. The extraction recoveries were in the range of 89.42–119.68%, and the matrix effects were within the range of 44.81–119.77%. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied to the detection and quantification of fentanyl and sufentanil in hair samples from two authentic cases. Thus, this method has great potential for detecting fentanyl analogues and novel synthetic opioids in forensic work.

Development and validation of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry targeted screening of 16 fentanyl analogs and U-47700 in hair: Application to 137 authentic samples

This study was to validate a LC-MS/MS method for the determination of 17 new synthetic opioids (NSOs) in hair including 3-fluorofentanyl, 3-methylfentanyl, acetylfentanyl, acetylnorfentanyl, alfentanyl, butyrylfentanyl, butyrylnorfentanyl, carfentanil, fentanyl, furanylfentanyl, furanylnorfentanyl, methoxyacetylfentanyl, norcarfentanil, norfentanyl, ocfentanil, sufentanil, and U-47700, and to apply it to 137 authentic samples. Twenty milligrams of hair was decontaminated in dichloromethane and underwent liquid extraction. 10 μL of the reconstituted residue were injected onto the system. The separation was performed in 12 minutes in a gradient mode at a flow rate of 300 μL/min using a Hypersyl Gold PFP column (100 × 2.1 mm i.d., 1.9 μm) maintained at 30°C. Compounds were detected in positive ionization and MRM modes using a TSQ Endura mass spectrometer (ThermoFisher). The method was validated according to EMA guidelines. The LLOQ was in the range 1-50 pg/mg, and the calibration ranged from the LLOQ-1000 pg/mg. Intra- and inter-day accuracy (bias) and precision were < 15%. Extraction recoveries of parent drugs and metabolites were 74-120% and 7-62%, respectively. The matrix effect was in the range 59-126% (CVs ≤ 12.9%). Fentanyl was found in six cases at concentrations of < 1-1650 pg/mg (n = 14 segments). Five fentanyl analogs were quantified in two cases: 3-fluorofentanyl (25-150 pg/mg, n = 5), furanylfentanyl (15-500 pg/mg, n = 5), methoxyacetylfentanyl (500-600 pg/mg, n = 2), acetylfentanyl (1 pg/mg, n = 2), carfentanyl (2.5-3 pg/mg, n = 2). This fully validated method allowed us to test for the first time 3-fluorofentanyl and norcarfentanil in hair among 15 other NSOs, and brings new data regarding 3-fluorofentanyl and methoxyacetylfentanyl hair concentrations.

Identification and structure characterization of five synthetic opioids: 3,4-methylenedioxy-U-47700, o-methyl-acetylfentanyl, 2-thiophenefentanyl, benzoylfentanyl and benzoylbenzylfentanyl

Purpose

The number of new synthetic opioids, especially fentanyl analogs, on the illicit market is increasing each year and becoming a disturbing phenomenon. Due to the very high potency, ease of addiction and high risk of overdose with the fatal effect, they pose a serious threat to public health. The ever-changing drug market, lack of reference standards and low doses make this class of new psychoactive substances (NPS) a continual analytical challenge in terms of detection and identification. Structure elucidations of five synthetic opioids are described in this paper.

Methods

Unequivocal identifications were performed using liquid chromatography–high resolution tandem mass spectrometry with quadrupole time-of-flight analyzer (LC–QTOF-MS/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy with prior chromatographic purification of the sample in each case.

Results

Identified NPS included one non-fentanyl opioid belonging to “U-compounds group”—3,4-methylenedioxy-U-47700 and four fentanyl analogs: o-methyl-acetylfentanyl, benzoylfentanyl, 2-thiophenefentanyl and benzoylbenzylfentanyl.

Conclusions

Complementary LC–QTOF-MS/MS and NMR techniques enabled the unambiguous identification of new synthetic opioids. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive characterization of these five NPS with complete data which are published to facilitate their detection and identification by forensic and clinical laboratories.

Analysis of Cannabinoid-Containing Fluids in Illicit Vaping Cartridges Recovered from Pulmonary Injury Patients: Identification of Vitamin E Acetate as a Major Diluent

Beginning in June of 2019, there was a marked increase in reported cases of serious pulmonary injury associated with vaping. The condition, referred to as e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), does not appear to involve an infectious agent; rather, a chemical adulterant or contaminant in vaping fluids is suspected. In August of 2019, the Wadsworth Center began receiving vaporizer cartridges recovered from patients with EVALI for analysis. Having no a priori information of what might be in the cartridges, we employed untargeted analyses using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and high-resolution mass spectrometry to identify components of concern. Additionally, we employed targeted analyses used for New York medical marijuana products. Here, we report on the analyses of 38 samples from the first 10 New York cases of EVALI for which we obtained cartridges. The illicit fluids had relatively low cannabinoid content, sometimes with unusual Δ9-/Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol ratios, sometimes containing pesticides and many containing diluents. A notable diluent was α-tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E acetate; VEA), which was found in 64% of the cannabinoid-containing fluids. To investigate potential sources of the VEA, we analyzed six commercial cannabis-oil diluents/thickeners. Three were found to be >95% VEA, two were found to be primarily squalane, and one was primarily α-bisabolol. The cause(s) of EVALI is unknown. VEA and squalane are components of some personal care products; however, there is growing concern that vaping large amounts of these compounds is not safe.

Hair testing for 3-fluorofentanyl, furanylfentanyl, methoxyacetylfentanyl, carfentanil, acetylfentanyl and fentanyl by LC–MS/MS after unintentional overdose

Purpose

To demonstrate the usefulness of hair testing to determine exposure pattern to fentanyls.

Methods

A 43-year-old male was found unconscious with respiratory depression 15 min after snorting 3 mg of a powder labeled as butyrylfentanyl. He was discharged from hospital within 2 days without blood or urine testing. Two locks of hair were sampled 1 month (M1 A: 0–2 cm (overdose time frame); B: 2–4 cm; C: 4–6 cm) and 1 year (Y1: A: 0–2 cm; B: 2–4 cm) later to monitor his exposure to drugs of abuse by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry after liquid-liquid extraction.

Results

Hair analysis at M1 showed a repetitive exposure to 3-fluorofentanyl (A/B/C: 150/80/60 pg/mg) with higher concentration in segment A reflecting the overdose period. The non-detection of butyrylfentanyl was consistent with the analysis of the recovered powder identified as 3-fluorofentanyl. Furanylfentanyl (40/20/15 pg/mg) and fentanyl (37/25/3 pg/mg) were also detected in hair. The second hair analysis at Y1 showed the use of three new fentanyls, with probably repetitive exposures to methoxyacetylfentanyl (A/B: 500/600 pg/mg), and single or few exposures to carfentanil (2.5/3 pg/mg) and acetyl fentanyl (1/1 pg/mg). A decreasing exposure to 3-fluorofentanyl (25/80 pg/mg), and increasing consumption of furanylfentanyl (310/500 pg/mg) and fentanyl (620/760 pg/mg) were also observed despite methadone treatment initiation. The patient claimed not consuming three out of the six detected fentanyls.

Conclusions

We report single or repetitive exposure to several fentanyls using hair testing. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of 3-fluorofentanyl and methoxyacetylfentanyl in hair samples collected from an authentic abuser.