Department of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, 97004, Taiwan; Institute of Medical Biotechnology, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, 97004, Taiwan.
Institute of Medical Biotechnology, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, 97004, Taiwan.
Forensic Sci Int. 2020 Dec;317:110528. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110528. Epub 2020 Sep 28.
Synthetic cathinones constitute a major class of the new psychoactive substances (NPS) that have come to dominate recreational drug abuse in recent years. As synthetic cathinones are all chiral molecules, the use of chiral analysis to determine their enantiomeric ratios (ER) in seized drug samples can assist in the identification of the precursor chemicals and manufacturing processes used in production, thereby contributing to drug intelligence. In addition, as different enantiomers of synthetic cathinones vary in biological activity and toxicology, chiral analysis can support research into the physiological properties and side effects of seized drugs, thus enabling better treatment for overdose or addiction. Therefore, suitable methods for chiral separation and quantitative analysis of synthetic cathinones in forensic laboratories are needed. This study describes the separation of R- and S-enantiomers of methylone and ethylone, two of the most commonly abused synthetic cathinones, by liquid chromatography (LC) using a Lux AMP polysaccharide-based chiral column, followed by tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Enantiomeric separation was achieved in 13.4min, and the precision, accuracy, carryover, detection limit, and quantification limit of this method were determined. A total of 39 seized drug samples were analyzed in this study, and the results yielded ER of 0.97-1.09 for methylone and 0.87-1.17 for ethylone. The purity of methylone or ethylone was lower in instant coffee bags than in other package types. The ER and purity profiles can be useful for forensic science and drug intelligence.
合成卡西酮是新精神活性物质（NPS）的主要类别之一，近年来已成为娱乐性药物滥用的主要物质。由于合成卡西酮都是手性分子，因此使用手性分析来确定缴获药物样本中的对映体比例（ER）有助于识别用于生产的前体化学品和制造工艺，从而为毒品情报做出贡献。此外，由于不同的合成卡西酮对映体在生物活性和毒理学方面存在差异，手性分析可以支持对缴获药物的生理特性和副作用的研究，从而为过量或成瘾提供更好的治疗方法。因此，需要在法医实验室中开发用于分离和定量分析合成卡西酮的对映异构体的合适方法。本研究描述了使用 Lux AMP 多糖手性柱通过液相色谱（LC）分离两种最常被滥用的合成卡西酮——甲基酮和乙基酮的 R-和 S-对映异构体，然后进行串联质谱分析。对映异构体分离在 13.4min 内完成，确定了该方法的精密度、准确性、交叉污染、检测限和定量限。本研究共分析了 39 个缴获的药物样本，得到甲基酮的 ER 为 0.97-1.09，乙基酮的 ER 为 0.87-1.17。速溶咖啡袋中的甲基酮或乙基酮的纯度低于其他包装类型。ER 和纯度谱图可用于法医学和毒品情报。
