Determination of Pyrolysis Products of Smoked Methamphetamine Mixed with Tobacco by Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

This study examines the pyrolysis products of smoked methamphetamine mixed with tobacco that was trapped with a C8 adsorbent cartridge and then detected by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. According to the results, the mainstream smoke contains 2-methylpropyl-benzene, 2-chloropropyl-benzene, 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one, 3-ethyl-phenol, methamphetamine, dimethylamphetamine, hydroquinone, 3-methyl-5-(1-methylethyl)-methylcarbamate phenol, N-methyl-N-(2-phenylethyl)-acetamide, 4-(3-hydroxy-1-butenyl)-3,5,5-trimethyl-2-cyclohexene-1-one, propanoic acid, N-acetylmethamphetamine, phenyl ester, and furfurylmethylamphetamine. In addition, the compounds in sidestream smoke are 2-propenyl benzene, phenylacetone, methamphetamine, dimethylamphetamine, benzyl methyl ketoxime, 3,4-dihydro-2-naphthalenone, N-folmyamphetamine, N-acetylamphetamine, bibenzyl, N-folmylmethamphetamine, N-acetylmethamphetamine, N-propionymethamphetamine, and furfurylmethylamphetamine. Moreover, the presence of methamphetamine promotes the oxidation of the tobacco components.

New Secondary Metabolites of Phenylbutyrate in Humans and Rats

“…The absence of 1-phenyl-2-propanol in the urine before PB ingestion confirms its origin from PB. Note that phenylacetone and 1-phenyl-2-propanol are also products of amphetamine catabolism (Shiiyama et al, 1997;Lee et al, 1999). It is not known whether phenylacetone and 1-phenyl-2-propanol contribute to the toxic side effects of amphetamine.…”

“…Although we were unable to find reports of phenylcrotonate toxicity, this compound is present in toxic pesticides (Dinocap). Other side products of PB metabolism, phenylacetone and 1-phenyl-2-propanol, are also formed during amphetamine intoxication (Shiiyama et al, 1997;Lee et al, 1999), but it is not clear whether they contribute to the toxicity of amphetamine or phenylbutyrate. The production of phenylacetone and 1-phenyl-2-propanol may be increased under conditions associated with stress and stimulation of lipolysis.…”

Fast Onset Medications through Thermally Generated Aerosols

“…Smoking refers to the heating of drug substance to form vapor 1 that subsequently cools, condenses, and coagulates into aerosol particles that are inhaled. From a pharmaceutical perspective, however, smoking has never been considered a viable drug delivery process because of uncontrolled production of numerous thermal degradation products from the relevant drug and plant constituents (Stedman, 1968;Schmeltz and Hoffmann, 1977;Freeman and Martin, 1981;Martin et al, 1989;Lee et al, 1999) and also because of lack of consistent or desirable aerosol particle size. Here, we show that a thermal aerosol generation process analogous to smoking can be used to deliver pure drug substance reliably to the alveoli without thermal degradation products.…”

Recent Improvements in Forensic Hair Analysis for Illicit Drugs

“…(Passive exposure of hair in the environment) To the contrary, p-OH-MA is not usually produced in the thermoconversion of MA. 32,33) Therefore, the authors concluded that the detection of both metabolites, AP and p-OH-MA, in addition to the parent drug MA with reasonable ratios, provides indisputable proof of MA use by means of hair analysis. For MDMA user hair samples, the detection of its relevant metabolite MDA, with a ratio of MDA to MDMA of around 0.01-0.03, seems to be reasonable for reporting MDMA use via hair analysis.…”