Zhang Jianxin, Zhang Daming, Zhang Wenfang, Qiao Jing
Forensic Medical Examination Center of Beijing Public Security Bureau, Beijing 100085, China.
Wei Sheng Yan Jiu. 2009 Jul;38(4):426-8.
The enantiomer profiling of methamphetamine is can be utilized for regulation of the precursors, investigatin of the drug case.
In the present study, we investigated on the enantiomer of 114 crystalline methamphetamine samples seized in Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang and Chengdu. The methamphetamine samples were derivatized with (S)-(+)-a-methoxya-(trifluoromethyl)phenylacetyl chloride ((S)-(+)-MTPACl), and the derivatives were analyzed by GC-MS in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode.
Most of the seizures were pure S (+)-enantiomer (90.4%), but 3.5% (4 of 114 samples) contained R(-)-enantiomer above 1%.
This indicates that the majority of samples were prepared from either (1R, 2S)-(-)-ephedrine or (1S, 2S)-(+)-pseudoephedrine. At the same time, there were methamphetamine drugs synthesized from (1S, 2R)-(-)-ephedrine or (1R, 2R)-(+)-pseudoephedrine.
