Identification of synthetic cathinones in seized materials: A review of analytical strategies applied in forensic chemistry

Abstract

Synthetic cathinones are a class of novel psychoactive substances, commonly tested in seized materials by forensic chemistry laboratories. These drugs have been found in different types of seized materials including powders, tablets, liquids, herbs, and blotters. A comprehensive review of the literature shows that the analyses of synthetic cathinones have been performed by a diverse repertoire of techniques, from more traditional to emerging methods. Techniques commonly used in the analysis of "traditional" illicit drugs, such as color and microcrystalline tests, chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, mass spectrometry (MS), and infrared (IR), and Raman spectroscopies, have been used for screening and/or confirmatory purposes, depending on the technique and laboratories preference. However, other emerging techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance, high-resolution MS, direct analysis in real-time MS, gas chromatography with IR detection, and so on, have been drawing the attention of forensic scientists due to the advantages of these techniques in providing important structural data. It is important to consider that each technique presents analytical benefits and limitations, which should be considered when analyzing synthetic cathinones in seized materials. Furthermore, the combination of more than one analytical technique is always recommended, especially when an unknown synthetic cathinone is suspected and/or encountered in the sample.

Cyclic Ion Mobility of Isomeric New Psychoactive Substances Employing Characteristic Arrival Time Distribution Profiles and Adduct Separation

“…According to 2022 data, more than 1180 NPS have been identified in the last 15 years . Various analytical methods have been employed in NPS analysis, e.g., color and microcrystalline tests, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry (MS), capillary electrophoresis, chromatography, and others have served to find synthetic cathinones in seized materials . NPS in biological fluids (blood, urine, oral fluid, etc.…”

“…1 Various analytical methods have been employed in NPS analysis, e.g., color and microcrystalline tests, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry (MS), capillary electrophoresis, chromatography, and others have served to find synthetic cathinones in seized materials. 2 NPS in biological fluids (blood, urine, oral fluid, etc.) 3,4 and in hair 5,6 have been analyzed by gas chromatography (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography (LC-MS) with various sample pretreatments.…”

Química a serviço da inteligência forense: estudo de novas substâncias psicoativas por metodologia in silico

“…De maneira mais específica, o resultado da técnica representa quais núcleos atômicos inverteram seu alinhamento do spin em relação a um campo magnético externo. O espectro irá representar a absorção resultante, fornecendo informações sobre como o núcleo é afetado pelo ambiente químico (ligações ou interações) [32,[39][40][41].…”