Characterization of 17 unknown ketamine manufacturing by-product impurities by UHPLC-QTOF-MS.
Drug testing and analysis August 1, 2024 Cui-Mei Liu, Zhen-Dong Hua, Wei Jia et al. 7 citations
Seventeen impurities characteristic of the ketamine manufacturing process were identified and characterized in 150 seized ketamine samples using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight (UHPLC-Q-TOF). Impurities were selected if present in over 10% of samples, contained at least one nitrogen, had unsaturation greater than 5, and remained stable in solvent for 48 hours. All 17 impurities shared a deschloroketamine (DCK) skeleton with additional chlorine, hydroxyl, methyl, cyclohexane, or o-chlorophenyl cyclopentyl ketone substituents. Their structures were tentatively elucidated based on the synthetic route and mass spectrometry fragmentation patterns. These impurities are routinely used for profiling seized ketamine samples to provide tactical intelligence for law enforcement.