Bauer Adam E, Jakobsdottir Margret R, Olafsdottir Kristin
Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Iceland, Hofsvallagata 53, Reykjavik 107, Iceland.
J Anal Toxicol. 2024 Jul 13;48(6):456-462. doi: 10.1093/jat/bkae039.
Amphetamine (AMP) and methamphetamine (METH) use is increasing globally. Illegal AMP is generally a racemic mixture, whereas AMP-containing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder drugs prescribed in Iceland consist of S-AMP. AMP is also a main metabolite of interest after METH intake. Distinguishing between legal and illegal AMP intake is vital in forensic toxicology. A chiral UPLC-MS-MS method was used to determine the enantiomeric profile of AMP and METH in circulation in Iceland by analysing blood samples from drivers suspected of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) and seized drug samples from 2021 and 2022. All seized AMP samples (n = 48) were racemic, whereas all but one seized METH sample (n = 26) were enantiopure. Surprisingly, a large portion of the enantiopure METH samples was R-METH. DUID blood samples positive for AMP (n = 564) had a median blood concentration of 180 ng/mL (range 20-2770 ng/mL) and a median enantiomeric fraction (EFR) of 0.54 (range 0-0.73), whereas samples positive for METH (n = 236) had a median blood concentration of 185 ng/mL (range 20-2300 ng/mL) and a median EFR of 0.23 (range 0-1). The findings of this study show a significantly lower blood concentration in drivers with only S-AMP detected compared with when the R-isomer is also detected. No significant difference in blood concentration was detected between the sample groups containing S-METH, R-METH or both enantiomers. The occurrence of R-METH in both seized drug samples and DUID cases indicates a change in drug supply and a need for better scientific knowledge on R-METH abuse.
全球范围内苯丙胺（AMP）和甲基苯丙胺（METH）的使用呈上升趋势。非法AMP通常是外消旋混合物，而冰岛开具的含AMP的注意力缺陷多动障碍药物由S-AMP组成。AMP也是METH摄入后主要关注的代谢物。在法医毒理学中，区分合法和非法的AMP摄入至关重要。采用手性超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法，通过分析2021年和2022年疑似药物影响下驾驶（DUID）的司机的血液样本以及查获的毒品样本，来确定冰岛流通中的AMP和METH的对映体分布。所有查获的AMP样本（n = 48）都是外消旋的，而除了一个查获的METH样本（n = 26）外，其他所有样本都是对映体纯的。令人惊讶的是，大部分对映体纯的METH样本是R-METH。AMP呈阳性的DUID血液样本（n = 564）的血液中位浓度为180 ng/mL（范围为20 - 2770 ng/mL），对映体分数（EFR）中位数为0.54（范围为0 - 0.73），而METH呈阳性的样本（n = 236）的血液中位浓度为185 ng/mL（范围为20 - 2300 ng/mL），EFR中位数为0.23（范围为0 - 1）。本研究结果表明，与同时检测到R-异构体的情况相比，仅检测到S-AMP的司机血液浓度显著更低。在含有S-METH、R-METH或两种对映体的样本组之间，未检测到血液浓度的显著差异。在查获的毒品样本和DUID病例中均出现R-METH，这表明毒品供应发生了变化，并且需要关于R-METH滥用的更好的科学知识。
