Elemental analysis of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA): A tool to determine the synthesis method and trace links

Graphite furnace atomic absorption elemental analysis of ecstasy tablets

“…Results for batch 1 are given in Table 3 and those for batch 2 in Table 4. The most striking aspect of the data is the large variation of the concentrations of some elements even within one batch, however this is not completely unexpected given previous studies of methamphetamine [4] and ecstasy tablets [10,11]. The copper levels in these samples are particularly high (batch 1: 4-2379 ppm, batch 2:…”

“…The powder was then transferred to a 50 mL volumetric flask to which a mixture of 1 mL 30% hydrogen peroxide and 5 mL 69% nitric acid was added [11]. The solution was then placed in the sonicator for 10 minutes to aid the digestion and release any gas produced from the reaction before being placed into the oven for 1 hour at 40 °C and 10 hours at 90°C under normal pressure.…”

“…The selection of elements comprises of metals that may be present due to additives (Mg), dyes (Cu), reducing agents (Ni), catalysts and elements recorded to be commonly present in ecstasy tablets [4,[10][11][12]. Elements Cu, Cr and Pb have been observed to be more homogenous within batches than elemental markers for synthesis routes [11] indicating these trace metals will be of use whilst indicating linkages between batches.…”

“…Techniques employed for inorganic impurity profiling Paper Draft 7 without authors.docx Click here to view linked References studies have included flame atomic emission spectrometry (FAES) for cocaine [3]; flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) for cocaine [3] and methamphetamine [4]; graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) for cocaine [3,[5][6][7] and heroin [5][6][7][8][9]; inductively couple plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) [10,11] and heroin [8];…”

“…inductively couple plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) for MDMA [10][11][12], methamphetamine [4,13] and heroin [14]; ion chromatography (IC) for methamphetamine [13]; total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis (TXRF) for methamphetamines [15]; synchrotron radiation total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis (SR-TXRF) for a range of drugs of abuse [16]; electrochemical methods for ecstasy [17].…”