Drug testing and analysis
March 1, 2023
Pierce V Kavanagh, Folker Westphal, Benedikt Pulver et al.
7 citations
A new lysergamide, 1cP-AL-LAD, was analyzed using chromatographic, mass spectrometric, and spectroscopic methods. A powdered sample from an online vendor contained 17 impurities, including AL-LAD and 1P-AL-LAD (confirmed by reference standards) and tentatively identified compounds such as 1-acetyl-AL-LAD and oxidation products of the N6-allyl group and ergoline ring. The substance was also found in blotter paper samples sold online for recreational use. These findings provide analytical data for researchers interested in lysergamide chemistry.
Drug testing and analysis
April 1, 2025
Yuki Okada, Hiroki Segawa, Tadashi Yamamuro et al.
6 citations
Since late 2023, a substance sold as "1D-AL-LAD" has appeared online, but chemical analysis suggests it is actually 1-(2-thienoyl)-6-allyl-nor-LSD (1T-AL-LAD), not the claimed 1-(1,2-dimethylcyclobutanecarbonyl)-6-allyl-nor-LSD. To aid forensic identification, researchers synthesized 1T-AL-LAD and characterized it with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, liquid chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The compound was easily distinguished from previously reported lysergamides. Detectability differences in GC/MS and fragmentation patterns in LC/HRMS were noted and explained. This information will help identify the substance in seized materials should it emerge on the market.
Drug testing and analysis
September 1, 2024
Verena Angerer, Yasmin Schmid, Florian Franz et al.
6 citations
In six healthy volunteers, the new psychoactive substance MDAI at 3.0 mg/kg produced subjective effects comparable to 125 mg of MDMA, including increased blood pressure, but did not raise heart rate or body temperature. MDAI increased cortisol and prolactin levels, appeared in serum about 20 minutes after ingestion, and remained detectable for at least 4 days in serum and 6 days in urine. The drug was well tolerated. Further research is needed to evaluate whether MDAI might have medicinal applications.
Drug testing and analysis
May 1, 2023
Marta Massano, Enrico Gerace, Martina Borsari et al.
6 citations
Methoxpropamine (MXPr), a dissociative drug similar to ketamine, was studied in 16 mice to track how it breaks down in the body. After injecting the mice with 1, 3, or 10 mg/kg of MXPr, urine was collected hourly for six hours and then at 12- to 24-hour intervals; plasma was collected after 24 hours. Using high-resolution mass spectrometry, the main metabolite found in urine was desmethyl-MXPr-glucuronide, detectable up to 24 hours after administration. NorMXPr, produced by N-dealkylation, appeared in urine, plasma, and fur. Other metabolites in fur and plasma included desmethyl-MXPr and dihydro-MXPr. Understanding these metabolites can help improve toxicological screening for MXPr in biological samples.
Drug testing and analysis
December 3, 2024
Simon D Brandt, Pierce V Kavanagh, Sarah Gare et al.
5 citations
1-(2-furoyl)-lysergic acid diethylamide (1F-LSD, SYN-L-005) is a novel analog of the recently detected recreational drug 1-(thiophene-2-carbonyl)-LSD (1T-LSD). Both substances are N1-acylated LSD derivatives that bind to the 5-HT2A receptor, the primary site of action for psychedelic drugs. In C57BL/6J mice, 1F-LSD and 1T-LSD induced the head-twitch response, a 5-HT2A-mediated behavior, and were hydrolyzed to LSD after administration. These findings indicate that both compounds exhibit LSD-like properties and likely act as prodrugs for LSD, releasing the active drug in the body.
Drug testing and analysis
December 1, 2024
Keeper Trout, Paul F. Daley
5 citations
The powerful psychedelic 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM, also known as STP) first appeared in 1967, but the full story is often missing details and includes inaccuracies. Alexander Shulgin supplied the material to Owsley Stanley, who then distributed it to the public for free. Shulgin took an immense risk because DOM was Dow Chemical's intellectual property, and discovery could have jeopardized his career. The article explores why Shulgin released the compound to clandestine operators. DOM faded into oblivion before its human pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics could be established, but it later contributed to non-clinical molecular neuroscience by elucidating receptor specificity. Mistaken warnings about combining DOM with chlorpromazine led to better non-pharmacological drug crisis response.
Drug testing and analysis
February 1, 2024
Simon D Brandt, Pierce V Kavanagh, Folker Westphal et al.
5 citations
N-ethyl-N-isopropyllysergamide (EIPLA), an isomer of the psychedelic lysergamide ETH-LAD, shows LSD-like properties in preclinical tests. Mass spectrometry, chromatography, and NMR spectroscopy distinguished EIPLA from ETH-LAD by their structural features. Blotter extracts contained 96.9 ± 0.5 μg and 85.8 ± 2.8 μg of EIPLA base. In mice, EIPLA induced head-twitch responses (ED50 = 234.6 nmol/kg), about half the potency of LSD (ED50 = 132.8 nmol/kg), consistent with serotonergic psychedelic effects. Analytical data are provided to aid forensic and clinical identification.
Drug testing and analysis
April 1, 2025
Simon D Brandt, Pierce V Kavanagh, Sarah Gare et al.
4 citations
A newly developed LSD derivative, 1-hexanoyl-LSD (1H-LSD), was characterized analytically and tested in mice using the head-twitch response assay, a behavioral proxy for psychedelic activity. 1H-LSD induced head-twitch responses with a median effective dose of 192.4 μg/kg, making it roughly as potent as the known analog 1A-LSD (ALD-52) under similar conditions. Like other N1-acylated LSD derivatives, 1H-LSD is expected to be hydrolyzed to LSD in the body, acting as a prodrug. It is not yet known whether this compound has appeared on the recreational drug market or in research chemical supplies.
Drug testing and analysis
June 1, 2022
Xuan Luo, Di Zhang, Qiulian Luo et al.
4 citations
A suspected chemical precursor of the drug 2-fluorodeschloroketamine (2-FDCK), called 2-fluorodeschlorohydroxylimine, was identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry, with comparisons to ketamine and its precursor hydroxylimine. The fragmentation pathway under electron ionization was theorized, and decomposition mechanisms in protic solvents were elucidated. In such solvents, the imine group protonates, then traces of water hydrolyze it, yielding a carbon cation that either forms the major product (2'-fluorophenyl)(1″-hydroxycyclopentyl)methanone via classical imine decomposition or undergoes loop expansion to 2-(2'-fluorophenyl)-2-hydroxycyclohexan-1-one. Structures were confirmed by theoretical calculation, GC-MS, NMR, ACDLabs-Structure Elucidator Suite, and diffusion-ordered spectroscopy. Methods for qualitative analysis of the precursor were established.
Drug testing and analysis
June 1, 2024
Pirkko Kriikku, Aino Kankaanpää, Teemu Gunnar et al.
3 citations
Amphetamine, methamphetamine, and MDMA have a similar capacity to cause death when fatal toxicity is expressed as deaths per million doses. In Finland, poisoning deaths from these stimulants correlated significantly with drug consumption measured by wastewater-based epidemiology across the years 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. Methamphetamine showed the highest fatal toxicity (at an estimated 50 mg dose), followed by MDMA (100 mg dose) and amphetamine (50 mg dose). The fatal toxicity of these stimulants was close to that previously reported for many prescription opioids and tricyclic antidepressants. This is the first study to quantitatively compare fatal toxicity of amphetamine-type stimulants by linking deaths with consumption estimates from wastewater.
Drug testing and analysis
August 1, 2025
Fabian Frankenfeld, Lea Wagmann, Markus R Meyer
2 citations
Five deschloroketamine derivatives and most of their metabolites remain sufficiently stable in raw wastewater to serve as analytical targets for wastewater-based epidemiology. After incubating the parent compounds, rat urine, or rat feces in untreated influent wastewater for 24 hours, all parent compounds, seven Phase I metabolites, and one Phase II metabolite were detected in rat feces. Peak areas of Phase II N- and O-glucuronides decreased markedly, consistent with earlier findings that Phase II conjugates are unstable in wastewater and unsuitable as biomarkers. The results indicate that the parent drugs and their Phase I metabolites can be used for wastewater surveillance of these new psychoactive substances.
Drug testing and analysis
May 21, 2025
Donata Favretto, Antonello Cirnelli, Roberto Pertile et al.
2 citations
A child died hours after ingesting a cork-colored, earth-like substance. At the hospital, the child had trouble walking, balancing, and staying conscious, and needed intubation for breathing difficulty, receiving fentanyl and ketamine. Autopsy showed congestion in multiple organs. Toxicological tests on blood, urine, bile, organs, stomach contents, and hair detected cannabinoids, ketamine, norketamine, and fentanyl in emergency room blood; postmortem samples also contained cannabinoids. Hair analysis revealed THC, CBD, CBN, methadone, cocaine, morphine, and other drugs. Stomach contents had traces of cannabis. Acute cannabis intoxication amid chronic exposure to multiple drugs was deemed responsible for the death. Cases of intoxication are increasing with cannabis legalization, but data on young children remain scarce.
Drug testing and analysis
February 4, 2025
Rafael D Soares, Danielle K John, Marcos P Thomé et al.
1 citation
A rapid and reliable method combining ASAP-MS with DD-SIMCA accurately identifies ecstasy (MDMA) and its adulterants, including emerging psychoactive substances missed by traditional tests. Principal component analysis (PCA) captured 69% of data variability in the first three components, and the DD-SIMCA model showed high sensitivity for MDA samples and high specificity in training and test sets. The chemometric model matched standard technique results even with adulterants present, suggesting these tools are valuable for forensic drug analysis.
Drug testing and analysis
June 1, 2024
Takuji Shoda, Genichiro Tsuji, Maiko Kawamura et al.
1 citation
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a hallucinogen that activates the serotonin 2A receptor and is a controlled substance in Japan. Recently, MiPLA, an N-methyl-N-isopropyl derivative of LSD, has appeared in paper-sheet products in several countries. This work describes the three-step synthesis of MiPLA starting from ergometrine maleate, which also produced the (8S)-isomer, iso-MiPLA, as a by-product. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry showed that LSD, MiPLA, and iso-MiPLA have different retention times. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy determined their chemical structures and revealed rotamers involving the N-methyl-N-isopropyl groups of tertiary amides in MiPLA and iso-MiPLA.
Drug testing and analysis
July 22, 2025
N Meert, K Segers, F Van Durme et al.
Portable near-infrared (NIR) and Fourier-transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, combined with chemometric modeling, can reliably estimate the MDMA dose in seized tablets. When tested on 98 tablets, NIR achieved an R² of 0.64 (indirect contact, intact tablets) and 0.87 (direct contact, homogenized tablets) with RMSEP values of 8.0 and 5.9, respectively; FT-IR achieved an R² of 0.84 with an RMSEP of 5.4, compared to reference gas chromatography results. Both techniques are suitable for rapid on-site application, but dose estimation alone does not address all health risks—low-dosed substances, combinations with other drugs, and alcohol also matter, so laboratory analysis remains essential for comprehensive safety assessment.