Diverse psychotropic substances detected in drug and drug administration equipment samples submitted to drug checking services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 2019–April 2020

Background The overdose crisis has generated innovative harm reduction and drug market monitoring strategies. In Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a multi-site drug checking service (DCS) pilot project was launched in October 2019. The project provides people who use drugs with information on the chemical composition of their substances, thereby increasing their capacity to make more informed decisions about their drug use and avoid overdose. DCS also provides real-time market monitoring to identify trends in the unregulated drug supply. Methods Sample data were obtained through analyses of drug and used drug administration equipment samples submitted anonymously and free of charge to DCS in downtown Toronto from October 10, 2019, to April 9, 2020, representing the first six months of DCS implementation. Analyses were conducted in clinical laboratories using liquid chromatography- and/or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC–MS, GC–MS) techniques. Results Overall, 555 samples were submitted, with 49% (271) of samples that were found to contain high-potency opioids, of which 87% (235) also contained stimulants. Benzodiazepine-type drugs were found in 21% (116) of all samples, and synthetic cannabinoids in 1% (7) of all samples. Negative effects (including overdose, adverse health events, and extreme sedation) were reported for 11% (59) of samples submitted for analysis. Conclusions Toronto’s DCS identified a range of high-potency opioids with stimulants, benzodiazepine-type drugs, and a synthetic cannabinoid, AMB-FUBINACA. This information can inform a range of evidence-informed overdose prevention efforts.

Rapid Simultaneous Determination of 11 Synthetic Cannabinoids in Urine by Liquid Chromatography-Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry

Synthetic cannabinoids are a series of synthetic substances that mimic the effects of natural cannabinoids and produce a much stronger toxicity than natural cannabinoids, which have become the most abused family of new psychoactive substances. A solid-phase extractive-liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole/linear ion trap mass spectrometry method was developed to determine 11 synthetic cannabinoids in rat urine. The factors affecting recovery were optimized, and Oasis HLB was selected to extract synthetic cannabinoids simultaneously. The results showed that the linear correlation coefficients of the synthetic cannabinoids ranged from 0.993 to 0.999, and the limit of quantitation ranged from 0.01 to 0.1 ng/mL, and the spiked recoveries ranged from 69.90% to 118.39%. This method has the advantages of good purification ability, simple operation, and good reproducibility, and can be used for the high sensitivity analysis of various synthetic cannabinoids in urine.

Computer-Aided Classification of New Psychoactive Substances

The appearance on the free market of synthetic cannabinoids raised the researchers’ interest in establishing their molecular similarity by QSAR analysis. A rigorous criterion for classifying drugs is their chemical structure. Therefore, this article presents the structural similarity of two groups of drugs: benzoylindoles and phenylacetylindoles. Statistical analysis and clustering of the molecules are performed based on their numerical characteristics extracted using Cheminformatics methods. Their similarities/dissimilarities are emphasized using the dendrograms and heat map. The highest discrepancies are found in the phenylacetylindoles group.

Voltammetric Analysis of New Psychoactive Substances

New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) are synthetic drugs that create similar effects as various narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Different NPS such as mephedrone, synthacaine, synthetic cannabinoids, etc. are available today which are sold across numerous platforms like drug markets, head shops, the dark web, etc. They are emerging rapidly and becoming popular in society because of their variable nature and ease in avoiding breaking the law. Consequently, their analysis is extremely crucial in the prohibition of drug abuse and the development of laboratory methods. This review introduces a broad overview of the analysis of various new psychoactive substances by voltammetric techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, stripping voltammetry etc. It also focuses on various methodologies that were developed for the detection of these NPS which play a leading role in forensic investigation by providing a rapid, sensitive, and cost-effective platform of analysis. The need for the advancement of various detection methods and analysis of more drugs is additionally discussed.

Phase I-metabolism studies of the synthetic cannabinoids PX-1 and PX-2 using three different in vitro models

Purpose Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs), highly metabolized substances, are rarely found unmodified in urine samples. Urine screening relies on SC metabolite detection, requiring metabolism knowledge. Metabolism data can be acquired via in vitro assays, e.g., human hepatocytes, pooled human liver microsomes (pHLM), cytochrome P450 isoforms and a fungal model; or in vivo by screening, e.g., authentic human samples or rat urine. This work describes the comprehensive study of PX-1 and PX-2 in vitro metabolism using three in vitro models. 5F-APP-PICA (PX-1) and 5F-APP-PINACA (PX-2) were studied as they share structural similarity with AM-2201, THJ-2201 and 5F-AB-PINACA, the metabolism of which was described in the literature. Methods For SC incubation, pHLM, cytochrome P450 isoenzymes and the fungal model Cunninghamella elegans LENDNER (C. elegans) were used. PX-1 and PX-2 in vitro metabolites were revealed comprehensively by liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry measurements. Results In total, 30 metabolites for PX 1 and 15 for PX-2 were detected. The main metabolites for PX-1 and PX-2 were the amide hydrolyzed metabolites, along with an indole monohydroxylated (for PX-1) and a defluorinated pentyl-monohydroxylated metabolite (for PX-2). Conclusions CYP isoforms along with fungal incubation results were in good agreement to those obtained with pHLM incubation. CYP2E1 was responsible for many of the metabolic pathways; particularly for PX-1. This study shows that all three in vitro assays are suitable for predicting metabolic pathways of synthetic cannabinoids. To establish completeness of the PX-1 and PX-2 metabolic pathways, it is not only recommended but also necessary to use different assays.

INVESTIGATION OF THE COMPOSITION OF LIQUID MIXTURES FOR SMOKING. DETERMINATION OF SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS AND α-PVP

The purpose of the article is to highlight the possibility of quantitative identification of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their analogues in the context of studying the composition of liquid mixtures for smoking (vapes), to propose a method. Methodology. A set of general scientific and special methods was used to achieve this goal. In particular, using theoretical methods (analysis, generalization, comparison, modeling), systematized theoretical materials on the problems to be solved; the state of practical elaboration of the problem is empirically determined; organizational and experimental means (diagnostic, ascertaining, formative, corrective experiment) in combination with qualitative analysis and mathematical processing of the obtained results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed method. The reliability of the results is ensured by the use of modern instrumental physicochemical, mathematical, statistical methods of analysis, as well as software processing of experimental data. Scientific novelty. The composition of liquid mixtures for smoking was determined using physicochemical methods of research, for the first time the possibility of quantitative identification of synthetic cannabinoids and α-PVP in the composition of vapes was proved. Conclusions. The composition of liquid mixtures for smoking (vapes) was determined and the possibility of quantitative identification of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their analogues using various instrumental methods based on modern scientific research, in particular the content of synthetic cannabinoids and α-PVP in liquid mixtures for smoking by thin-layer, gas chromatography and using mass spectrometry. The effectiveness of current methods of researching synthetic cannabinoids was tested on specific examples and a contribution was made to the future development of methods for studying the composition of drug-containing liquid mixtures for smoking and those containing psychotropic substances, the demand for which is currently growing on the world market and in Ukraine. A method for isolating synthetic cannabinoids and α-PVP from a solution of smoking mixtures has been developed. The general approaches to the choice of the scheme of research of synthetic narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances depending on the questions, form (liquid), type and quantity of the objects submitted for research are offered.