Intriguing Cytotoxicity of the Street Dissociative Anesthetic Methoxphenidine: Unexpected Impurities Spotted
International Journal of Molecular Sciences February 14, 2022 Bronislav Jurásek, Silvie Rimpelová, Martin Babor et al. 7 citations
A sample of the dissociative anesthetic methoxphenidine from the black market contained an unusual bromo- and chloro-zincate anion impurity. In vitro cytotoxicity tests on kidney, liver, and bladder cell lines showed that the street sample was markedly more toxic than a pure methoxphenidine standard, suggesting the impurity caused the increased toxicity. A method using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) was developed to identify such anions and distinguish different crystalline forms of methoxphenidine, providing additional data not captured by routine analysis.