Blotter papers have traditionally been abused with LSD, but new psychedelic phenethylamines like 2C drugs and their N-benzylhydroxy (25-NBOH) and N-2-methoxybenzyl (25-NBOMe) derivatives now appear in the illicit market. GC-MS, the standard for drug analysis, fails for thermally labile 25-NBOH drugs because they degrade into 2C drugs during analysis. A non-thermal LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated to simultaneously identify twelve phenethylamines, their derivatives, and LSD without thermal degradation. The method was applied to seized blotter papers and Ecstasy tablets.
Blotter papers once carried only LSD, but now contain related lysergamides such as ALD-52 and 1P-LSD. When these papers are analyzed by solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, the solvent choice matters: methanol and ethanol cause ALD-52 to convert into LSD during analysis, while isopropyl alcohol prevents that conversion. The hydrolysis happens at the GC injector port and is more pronounced at lower concentrations (0.1 mg/mL). 1P-LSD also hydrolyzes to LSD, but is more stable than ALD-52 because its propanoyl group provides steric hindrance.