Chemical attribution of fentanyl: The effect of human metabolism

Potent synthetic opioids including fentanyl and its analogs are frequently encountered in the field and require detection and identification by first responders to maintain the safety of drug abusers, first responders, health‐care providers, and the public at large. Due to the low concentration at which these substances may be encountered and the complicating matrices within which they may be dispersed, the use of portable gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) for their identification in the field offers great potential value. This research established that portable GC–MS is a useful method for the detection and identification of a large number of synthetic opioids, especially fentanyl and its analogs. In this study, 250 synthetic opioids and related substances including 210 fentanyl analogs were analyzed using portable GC–MS. It was concluded that 225 of the 250 (90.0%) opioids analyzed were successfully detected onboard at the time of analysis and identified as either the substance (55.2%) or an analog (34.8%). These outcomes have equivalent benefit for the field analysis of illicit drugs due to both initiating the same subsequent actions by first responders.

Section: Highlightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of portable gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) for the analysis of fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and other synthetic opioids

Leary,

Kizzire,

Chan Chao

et al. 2023

“…As with other illicit drugs that often overtake the market, scientific research has primarily focused on identifying trends associated with fentanyl production: purity, synthetic impurities, and synthetic route [2][3][4][5][6]. This information is important for identifying local and global trafficking trends, as well as shifts in production and tracking chemicals required for synthesis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic impurity profiling of fentanyl samples associated with recent clandestine laboratory methods

Toske

Mitchell

Myslinski

et al. 2023

Nearly a decade ago, fentanyl reappeared in the United States illicit drug market. In the years since, overdose deaths have continued to rise as well as the amount of fentanyl seized by law enforcement agencies. Research surrounding fentanyl production has been beneficial to regulatory actions and understanding illicit fentanyl production. In 2017, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began collecting seized fentanyl samples from throughout the United States to track purity, adulteration trends, and synthetic impurity profiles for intelligence purposes. The appearance of a specific organic impurity, phenethyl‐4‐anilino‐N‐phenethylpiperidine (phenethyl‐4‐ANPP) indicates a shift in fentanyl production from the traditional Siegfried and Janssen routes to the Gupta‐patent route. Through a collaboration between the DEA and the US Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC), the synthesis of fentanyl was investigated via six synthetic routes, and the impurity profiles were compared to those of seized samples. The synthetic impurity phenethyl‐4‐ANPP was reliably observed in the Gupta‐patent route published in 2013, and its structure was confirmed through isolation and structure elucidation. Organic impurity profiling results for illicit fentanyl samples seized in late 2021 have indicated yet another change in processing with the appearance of the impurity ethyl‐4‐anilino‐N‐phenethylpiperidine (ethyl‐4‐ANPP). Through altering reagents traditionally used in the Gupta‐patent route, the formation of this impurity was determined to occur through a modification of the route as originally described in the Gupta patent.

“…These products can be used to retrospectively confirm the identity of the original fentanyl. [35][36][37][38]. The majority of the cases involving fentanyl analysis involve biological fluids and tissues collected from overdose victims or material (solid or liquid) that has been collected in a drug seizure by law enforcement [39,40].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both techniques have found great success at analyzing and detecting the opioid and other analogs in a wide range of biological matrices (e.g., blood, plasma, urine and other tissues) [33, 34]. Furthermore, GC‐MS and LC‐MS have been central techniques in the analysis of fentanyl from the chemical attribution signatures standpoint in the field of chemical forensics [35–38]. The majority of the cases involving fentanyl analysis involve biological fluids and tissues collected from overdose victims or material (solid or liquid) that has been collected in a drug seizure by law enforcement [39, 40].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection and confirmation of fentanyls in high clay‐content soil by electron ionization gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry

Valdez

Rosales

et al. 2023

Detection of illicit drugs in the environment, particularly in soils, often suggests the present or past location of a clandestine production center for these substances. Thus, development of efficient methods for the analysis and detection of these chemicals is of paramount importance in the field of chemical forensics. In this work, a method involving the extraction and retrospective confirmation of fentanyl, acetylfentanyl, thiofentanyl, and acetylthiofentanyl using trichloroethoxycarbonylation chemistry in a high clay‐content soil is presented. The soil was spiked separately with each fentanyl at two concentrations (1 and 10 μg/g) and their extraction accomplished using ethyl acetate and aqueous NH4OH (pH ~ 11.4) with extraction recoveries ranging from ~56% to 82% for the high‐concentration (10 μg/g) samples while ranging from ~68% to 83% for the low‐concentration (1 μg/g) samples. After their extraction, residues containing each fentanyl were reacted with 2,2,2‐trichloroethoxycarbonyl chloride (Troc‐Cl) to generate two unique and predictable products from each opioid that can be used to retrospectively confirm their presence and identity using EI‐GC‐MS. The method's limit of detection (MDL/LOD) for Troc‐norfentanyl and Troc‐noracetylfentanyl were estimated to be 29.4 and 31.8 ng/mL in the organic extracts. In addition, the method's limit of quantitation for Troc‐norfentanyl and Troc‐noracetylfentanyl were determined to be 88.2 and 95.5 ng/mL, respectively. Collectively, the results presented herein strengthen the use of chloroformate chemistry as an additional chemical tool to confirm the presence of these highly toxic and lethal substances in the environment.