Trace-Level Screening of Chemicals Related to Clandestine Desomorphine Production with Ambient Sampling, Portable Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Desomorphine is a semisynthetic opioid that is responsible for the psychoactive effects of a dangerous homemade injectable mixture that goes by street name "Krokodil." Desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) and paper spray ionization (PSI) are implemented on a portable mass spectrometer for the direct analysis of desomorphine and precursor reagent codeine from multiple substrates of potential relevance to clandestine drug laboratory synthesis and paraphernalia seizure. Minimal sample preparation required for analysis and portability of the instrument suggest the potential for rapid, on-site analysis of evidence, a highly desired benefit for forensic science and law enforcement practitioners. Both DESI-MS and PSI-MS can generate spectra consistent with preceding data obtained using traditional ionization methods, while demonstrating detection limits in the low-to sub-ng levels.

Rapid screening of high‐priority N‐nitrosamines in pharmaceutical, forensic, and environmental samples with paper spray ionization and filter cone spray ionization‐mass spectrometry

“…Coupling PSI-MS and FCSI-MS to portable MS systems 43,72,76,77 could also allow rapid, on-site screening of NAM-contaminated matrices of interest to environmental stewardship and forensic investigation, as well as trace-level analysis of problematic pharmaceutical tablet adulterants/degradants for broad and expedited quality control in manufacturing settings. Recent investigations into 3D-printed ionization sources for bulk sample analysis could also prove advantageous, 78,79 providing a more rugged assembly to withstand the rigors of field operation.…”

Criticality of Spray Solvent Choice on the Performance of Next Generation, Spray-Based Ambient Mass Spectrometric Ionization Sources: A Case Study Based on Synthetic Cannabinoid Forensic Evidence

“…Here, the overarching goal was to provide non-scientist operators, such as law enforcement and crime scene technicians, with better performing tools for on-demand and on-site drug evidence confirmation. To simplify the method, a singular "gold standard" solvent system was always implemented (i.e., 1:1 MeOH:H 2 O with 0.1% formic acid), which has worked admirably for various traditional drugs of abuse (e.g., cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine), emergent analogues (e.g., synthetic cathinones, desomorphine [47], fentanyls [23], α-PVP [27], and adulterated/abused pharmaceutical tablets [27,28].…”

Interpol review of controlled substances 2016–2019

“…Desomorphine (“Krokodil”): 2016 identification of a complex mixture of opioids on krokodil street-like samples [ 129 ]; article presents the case of a user of krokodil and reviews the clinical symptoms of oral ingestion [ 130 ]; 2017 overview of krokodil’s chemistry, pharmacology, metabolism, toxicology and analysis including dentification and quantification of desomorphine, contaminants and metabolites [ 131 ]; trace-Level Screening using DESI-MS and PSI-MS are implemented on a portable mass spectrometer for the direct analysis of desomorphine and precursor reagent codeine from multiple substrates of potential relevance to clandestine drug laboratory synthesis and paraphernalia seizure [ 132 ]; krokodil profiling conducted by RP-HPLC-DAD and LC-ESI-IT-Orbitrap-MS and desomorphine, codeine, and morphine, profiling with HRMS data [ 133 ]; cross-reactivity of desomorphine using six commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays [ 134 ];…”