Residual solvents in methylenedioxymethamphetamine tablets as a source of strategic information and as a tool for comparative analysis: the development and application of a static headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method.

Various solvents can be used in the synthesis of the illicit synthetic drug methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy). In the crystallization process, traces of those solvents can be trapped inside crystals; during the following tabletting process, the solvent traces remain present in the tablets. The forensic investigation of tablets for solvents may increase knowledge of production methods and contribute to a possible choice of monitoring or regulating certain organic solvents. Further, the identification and quantification of solvents in MDMA tablets may contribute to the chemical characterization of illicit tablets for comparative examination. The methods of analysis of volatile components in illicit MDMA tablets described so far are often based on solid-phase micro extraction (SPME). To avoid several disadvantages of SPME, a quantitative static headspace method was developed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS); for quantification, the standard addition method appeared to be advantageous. The residual solvents in 155 MDMA tablets were analysed and 150 of them were quantified.