Abstract
PurposeWe present a fully validated method for determination of N-ethylpentylone in biological material and a case report of fatal intoxication with N-ethylpentylone.MethodsBlood and urine samples were extracted with ethyl acetate from alkaline medium (pH 9). The analysis was carried out using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. MDMA-d5 was used as the internal standard. Validation criteria were evaluated for blank blood and urine at concentrations of 10 and 100 ng/mL.ResultsThe validation parameters were as follows: lower limit of quantification: 1 ng/mL for blood and urine, coefficient of determination: blood > 0.9996, urine > 0.9975, precision for 10 and 100 ng/mL, respectively: blood 4.87% and 4.47%, urine 1.93% and 2.43%, accuracy for 10 and 100 ng/mL, respectively: blood 14.7% and −2.95%, urine 19.1% and 2.10%, recovery for 10 and 100 ng/mL, respectively: blood 91.5% and 100.2%, urine 97.4% and 96.7%, matrix effect in blood was 127% and 117% for 10 and 100 ng/mL, respectively, in urine 124% and 117% for 10 and 100 ng/mL, respectively. In the present case of fatal intoxication with N-ethylpentylone, the determined concentration of this substance was 10.6 µg/mL in peripheral blood and 17.6 µg/mL in urine. In both materials, four metabolites of N-ethylpentylone were determined qualitatively.ConclusionThe developed method enables the determination of N-ethylpentylone with high sensitivity and selectivity. The method was used to make determinations in biological material in the case of fatal intoxication with N-ethylpentylone.
Highlights
N-Ethylpentylone (IUPAC name: 1-(2H-1,3-benzodioxol5-yl)-2-(ethylamino)pentan-1-one) belongs to the group of synthetic cathinones, which in recent years have gained popularity on the illegal drug market
This study presents a fully validated method for detecting N-ethylpentylone in biological material and the first case of death due to intoxication with N-ethylpentylone in Poland
Water (Chromasolv® LC–MS), acetonitrile (Chromasolv® LC–MS), methanol (Chromasolv® LC–MS), acetone, ethyl acetate, and formic acid were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Steinheim, Germany); ammonium formate was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Bangalore, India); ammonium carbonate was purchased from Fluka (Buchs, Switzerland); and N-ethylpentylone and MDMA-d5 were purchased from Cerilliant (Round Rock, TX, USA)
Summary
N-Ethylpentylone (IUPAC name: 1-(2H-1,3-benzodioxol5-yl)-2-(ethylamino)pentan-1-one) belongs to the group of synthetic cathinones, which in recent years have gained popularity on the illegal drug market. According to the data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), identification of N-ethylpentylone was reported by one country in 2015, 25 countries in 2016, and 10 countries in 2017. In 2018, three countries had reported identification of N-ethylpentylone as of 25 August [3]. In Europe, N-ethylpentylone was reported for the first time in Slovenia in 2016 [4]. According to reports by the European Union Early Warning System on New Psychoactive Substances, N-ethylpentylone has so far been seized in many European countries, including the United Kingdom, Turkey, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Romania, Portugal, Malta, Lithuania, Latvia, Ireland, Hungary,. N-Ethylpentylone appears on the black market and on internet forums under different names, including N-ethylnorpentylone, MDEVP, bk-EBDP, bk-ETHYL-K, bkEPDP, ephylone, and Mercedes [1, 4, 5].
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