Determination of MDPBP in postmortem blood samples by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.

Marek Wiergowski,Marek Biziuk,Marzena Kata,Mateusz K Woźniak

doi:10.1007/s00706-016-1780-0

Marek Wiergowski, Marek Biziuk + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s00706-016-1780-0

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Abstract

MDPBP (1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-1-butanone) is a new psychoactive substance sold on the black market. It has been a controlled drug of abuse in Poland and China since 2015 as some toxic and fatal cases connected with use of synthetic cathinone derivatives were observed. The fatal case outlined here concerns a 19-year-old man, who was found dead with an envelope containing white powder lying nearby the cadaver. The analyses of the powder revealed a presence of MDPBP. Due to this, blood was tested for routine toxicological analysis for traditional drugs and for MDPBP by liquid–liquid extraction procedure with 1-chlorobutane followed by GC–MS analysis. Full validation of proposed method was performed. Limit of detection and limit of quantification were 10.1 and 30.4 ng/cm3, respectively. Calibration curve was linear in studied concentration range (25–1000 ng/cm3) with a correlation coefficient 0.9946. The trueness and inter-day precision expressed as recoveries and CV values were investigated at 3 concentrations: 25, 250, and 1000 ng/cm3. The CV values were less than 20 % in the lowest concentration and less than 15 % in other concentrations what met the internationally established acceptance criteria for bioanalytical methods. It indicates good precision and accuracy of the method. The analysis of blood sample showed very high concentration of MDPBP (9.32 µg/cm3), which suggests possibility of overdosing. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work which presents determination of MDPBP in blood by GC-EI-MS method and the third fatal accident report of MDPBP abuse.Graphical abstract

Highlights

The interest in synthetic cathinone derivatives is a reflection of their diverse range of biologically active properties
No MDPBP, rac-methamphetamine-D5 as an internal standard (IS), and additional peaks due to endogenous substances that could have interfered were reported in blank samples and in samples investigated for selectivity at the retention times of the analytes (Fig. 1)
Various human sample matrices are available in forensic toxicology analysis, blood is of the first choices being a reference biological material, and one of the most commonly used matrixes for drug determination with possibility of quantitative and qualitative interpretation

Summary

Introduction

The interest in synthetic cathinone derivatives is a reflection of their diverse range of biologically active properties. Synthetic cathinones can stimulate central nervous system. Medicinal exploration of cathinone derivatives is not surprising. One of the pharmacological properties of these compounds is the inhibition of monoamine uptake transporters. It makes them an interesting target for therapeutic applications, e.g., antidepressant therapy, neurodegeneration, drug addiction, and smoking cessation. A number of cathinone derivatives offer psychostimulatory and entactogenic properties and are extensively available on black market as new psychoactive substances (NPS)

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