Industrial Research Fellow, investigating the coordination of technetium and rhenium to peptides and the synthesis of low molecular weight radiopharmaceuticals. His research interests centered on the applications of technetium and rhenium radiopharmaceuticals to oncology and neurology. In 1998, he joined the platinum development team at AnorMed, Inc., as a Senior Developmental Scientist. His current research interests include the design and synthesis of new Pt antitumor agents and the design of efficient processes for large-scale manufacture of Pt compounds. Christen Giandomenico received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Columbia University and has held Post-doctoral positions at the University of Chicago and the Stanford Research Institute. In 1985 he joined Johnson-Matthey where he was a co-inventor of JM216, the first orally active platinum anticancer drug. He is a named inventor on six patents and is the author of 19 scientific articles. In 1996 he helped found AnorMED, a company dedicated to the discovery and development of metal-based therapeutics. He is currently Director of Chemical Development at AnorMED.
Background
The North American opioid overdose crisis is driven in large part by the presence of unknown psychoactive adulterants in the dynamic, unregulated drug supply. We herein report the first detection of the psychoactive veterinary compound xylazine in Toronto, the largest urban center in Canada, by the city’s drug checking service.
Methods
Toronto’s Drug Checking Service launched in October 2019. Between then and February 2021, 2263 samples were submitted for analysis. The service is offered voluntarily at harm reduction agencies that include supervised consumption services. Samples were analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. Targeted and/or untargeted screens for psychoactive substances were undertaken.
Results
In September 2020, xylazine was first detected by Toronto’s Drug Checking Service. Among samples analyzed from September 2020 to February 2021 expected to contain fentanyl in isolation (610) or in combination with methamphetamine (16), xylazine was detected in 46 samples (7.2% and 12.5% of samples, respectively). Samples were predominantly drawn from used drug equipment. Three of the samples containing xylazine (6.5%) were associated with an overdose.
Conclusion
We present the first detection of xylazine in Toronto, North America’s fourth-largest metropolitan area. The increased risk of overdose associated with use of xylazine and its detection within our setting highlights the importance of drug checking services in supporting rapid responses to the emergence of potentially harmful adulterants. These data also highlight the clinical challenges presented by the dynamic nature of unregulated drug markets and the concomitant need to establish regulatory structures to reduce their contribution to overdose morbidity and mortality.
Although buspirone had effects on the rGT at the dose that selectively occupied the DRD, the effects found do not parallel those found in previous studies of the effects of selective DRD antagonists on the rGT. Thus, buspirone may impair performance on the rGT through actions at multiple receptor sites.
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