Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States; Clinical Laboratories, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, United States; McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States; Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
Adv Clin Chem. 2021;103:191-214. doi: 10.1016/bs.acc.2020.10.001. Epub 2020 Dec 24.
Synthetic drugs of abuse contain various psychoactive substances. These substances have recently emerged as novel drugs of abuse in public; thus, they are known as novel psychoactive substances (NPS). As these compounds are artificially synthesized in a laboratory, they are also called designer drugs. Synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones are the two primary classes of NPS or designer drugs. Synthetic cannabinoids, also known as "K2" or "Spice," are potent agonists of the cannabinoid receptors. Synthetic cathinones, known as "Bath salts," are beta-keto amphetamine derivatives. These compounds can cause severe intoxication, including overdose deaths. NPS are accessible locally and online. NPS are scheduled in the US and other countries, but the underground chemists keep modifying the chemical structure of these compounds to avoid legal regulation; thus, these compounds have been evolving rapidly. These drugs are not detectable by traditional drug screening, and thus, these substances are mainly abused by young individuals and others who wish to avoid drug detection. These compounds are analyzed primarily by mass spectrometry.
滥用的合成毒品含有各种精神活性物质。这些物质最近在公众中作为新型滥用药物出现，因此被称为新型精神活性物质（NPS）。由于这些化合物是在实验室中人工合成的，因此也被称为设计药物。合成大麻素和合成苯丙胺类兴奋剂是 NPS 或设计药物的两个主要类别。合成大麻素也称为“K2”或“香料”，是大麻素受体的强效激动剂。合成苯丙胺类兴奋剂，称为“浴盐”，是β-酮苯丙胺衍生物。这些化合物会导致严重中毒，包括过量死亡。NPS 可在当地和网上获得。NPS 在美国和其他国家都有规定，但地下化学家不断修改这些化合物的化学结构，以避免法律监管；因此，这些化合物的发展迅速。这些药物无法通过传统的药物筛选检测到，因此，这些物质主要被年轻人和其他希望避免药物检测的人滥用。这些化合物主要通过质谱分析进行分析。
