Hair analysis for drugs and drugs of abuse is increasingly applied in child protection cases. To determine the potential risk to a child living in a household where drugs are consumed, not only can the hair of the parents be analyzed but also the hair of the child. In the case of hair analysis for cannabinoids, the differentiation between external contamination and systemic uptake is particularly difficult, since the drug is quite often handled extensively prior to consumption (e.g. when preparing a joint) and smoke causes a further risk for an external contamination. Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A (THCA-A), the non-psychoactive biogenetic precursor of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is a suitable marker for external contamination since it is not incorporated into the hair matrix through the bloodstream in relevant amounts. In the presented study, hair samples from 41 children, 4 teenagers, and 34 drug-consuming parents were analyzed for THCA-A, THC and cannabinol (CBN) applying methanolic extraction and a fully validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method (Method 1). For comparison, a part of the samples was also analyzed applying alkaline hydrolysis followed by liquid/liquid extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-M)S (Method 2), or by headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatographymass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) (Method 3). Furthermore, 458 seized marihuana samples and 180 seized hashish samples were analyzed for the same cannabinoids by gas-chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). In all but one of the hair samples, the concentration of THCA-A was higher than the concentration of THC and in 14 cases no THC could be detected despite the presence of THCA-A, suggesting that in almost all cases a significant external contamination had occurred. Within-family comparison showed a higher THCA-A/THC ratio in hair of children than of their consuming caregivers. Mean and median of this ratio of all hair samples (6.7 and 4.2) were between those of marihuana (11.0 and 8.3) and hashish (2.8 and 2.1) with a large variation in all samples. Comparison of the Methods 1 to 3 showed clearly that the choice of the analytical procedure has a strong influence on the quantitative results, mainly because of decarboxylation of THCA-A during hair hydrolysis by NaOH and other analytical steps, which lead to artifactually elevated THC concentrations. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the major part of the cannabinoids detected in the hair samples from children arose from an external contamination through 'passive' transfer by e.g. contaminated hands or surfaces and not from inhalation or deposition of side stream smoke.

N-Ethyl-1,2-diphenylethylamine (NEDPA) and N-iso-propyl-1,2-diphenylethylamine (NPDPA) are two designer drugs, which were confiscated in Germany in 2008. Lefetamine (N,N-dimethyl-1,2-diphenylethylamine, also named L-SPA), the pharmaceutical lead of these designer drugs, is a controlled substance in many countries. The aim of the present work was to study the phase I and phase II metabolism of these drugs in rats and to check for their detectability in urine using the authors' standard urine screening approaches (SUSA). For the elucidation of the metabolism, rat urine samples were worked up with and without enzymatic cleavage, separated and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-high resolution-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HR-MS/MS). According to the identified metabolites, the following metabolic pathways for NEDPA and NPDPA could be proposed: N-dealkylation, mono- and bis-hydroxylation of the benzyl ring followed by methylation of one of the two hydroxy groups, combinations of these steps, hydroxylation of the phenyl ring after N-dealkylation, glucuronidation and sulfation of all hydroxylated metabolites. Application of a 0.3 mg/kg BW dose of NEDPA or NPDPA, corresponding to a common lefetamine single dose, could be monitored in rat urine using the authors' GC-MS and LC-MS(n) SUSA. However, only the metabolites could be detected, namely N-deethyl-NEDPA, N-deethyl-hydroxy-NEDPA, hydroxy-NEDPA, and hydroxy-methoxy-NEDPA or N-de-iso-propyl-NPDPA, N-de-iso-propyl-hydroxy-NPDPA, and hydroxy-NPDPA. Assuming similar kinetics, an intake of these drugs should also be detectable in human urine.

The (crystalline) title compound 2 is the first distannacyclobutene. Other than the corresponding germanium compounds such as 1, 2 already dissociates reversibly into the starting compounds—cycloalkyne and stannanediyl—in solution at room temperature. This is apparently due to the fact that the energy of the CSn bond is markedly less than that of the CGe bond, and can no longer compensate the ring strain.

Novel substances for which none or limited analytical data are available constitute a challenge for police and customs forensic laboratories. The time-consuming process of structural elucidation and acquisition of analytical data has been centralized in the ADEBAR project in Germany, co-funded since 2017 by the EU's Internal Security Fund. The project aims to comprehensively characterize substances relevant for forensic-toxicological casework within the analytical competence network. The analytical datasets are distributed digitally through European and (inter)national channels.Additionally, pharmacological evaluation allows for estimating in vivo potency and potential harm required as scientific evidence for legislative amendments. The ADEBAR project contributes to the availability of analytical data on new substances relevant to the daily work of police and customs laboratories. Since the inception of Svenja Fischmann and Benedikt Pulver contributed equally to this work.

Diphenidine is a new psychoactive substance (NPS) sold as a 'legal high' since 2013. Case reports from Sweden and Japan demonstrate its current use and the necessity of applying analytical procedures in clinical and forensic toxicology. Therefore, the phase I and II metabolites of diphenidine should be identified and based on these results, the detectability using standard urine screening approaches (SUSAs) be elucidated. Urine samples were collected after administration of diphenidine to rats and analyzed using different sample workup procedures with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-(high resolution)-mass spectrometry (LC-(HR)-MS). With the same approaches incubates of diphenidine with pooled human liver microsomes (pHLM) and cytosol (pHLC) were analyzed. According to the identified metabolites, the following biotransformation steps were proposed in rats: mono- and bis-hydroxylation at different positions, partly followed by dehydrogenation, N,N-bis-dealkylation, and combinations of them followed by glucuronidation and/or methylation of one of the bis-hydroxy-aryl groups. Mono- and bis-hydroxylation followed by dehydrogenation could also be detected in pHLM or pHLC. Cytochrome-P450 (CYP) isozymes CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C9, and CYP3A4 were all capable of forming the three initial metabolites, namely hydroxy-aryl, hydroxy-piperidine, and bis-hydroxy-piperidine. In incubations with CYP2D6 hydroxy-aryl and hydroxy-piperidine metabolites were detected. After application of a common users' dose, diphenidine metabolites could be detected in rat urine by the authors' GC-MS as well as LC-MS SUSA. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.