Schram Jonas, Parrilla Marc, Sleegers Nick, Van Durme Filip, van den Berg Jorrit, van Nuijs Alexander L N, De Wael Karolien
AXES Research Group, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Drug Test Anal. 2021 Jul;13(7):1282-1294. doi: 10.1002/dta.3018. Epub 2021 Mar 3.
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.
市场上新精神活性物质的出现需要快速准确的工具，用于对结构相似的非法和合法化合物进行现场分类。在此，基于合成卡西酮（SCs）的电化学特征，提出了一种新的分类方法。首先，收集了五种常见合成卡西酮（即甲麻黄碱、乙卡西酮、亚甲基二氧吡咯戊酮、丁酮和4-氯-α-吡咯烷戊酮）的电化学特征，使用石墨丝网印刷电极（SPEs）上的方波伏安法建立校准曲线。其次，通过液相色谱-高分辨率质谱法获得的氧化途径的阐明，使氧化产物与合成卡西酮的电化学特征相匹配，提供了一种选择性强且可靠的分类方法。此外，还探讨了常见掺杂物和非法药物对合成卡西酮电化学特征的影响。有趣的是，SPE的阴极预处理允许在存在电活性掺杂物的情况下选择性检测每种合成卡西酮。最后，通过分析从缉获物和非法网店查获的26个样本，用电气相色谱-质谱法验证了该电化学方法。总体而言，该电化学方法成功地对包括结构衍生物在内的合成卡西酮进行了分类，这在不断多样化的毒品市场中是一个关键属性。
