Synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of emerging synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones

Abstract

The application of different analytical techniques is fundamental in forensic drug analysis. In the wake of the occurrence of large numbers of new psychoactive substances possessing similar chemical structures as already known ones, focus has been placed on applied criteria for their univocal identification. These criteria vary, obviously, depending on the applied technique and analytical approach. However, when two or more substances are proven to have similar analytical properties, these criteria no longer apply, which imply that complementary techniques have to be used in their differentiation.This work describes the synthesis of some structural analogues to synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones based on the evolving patterns in the illicit drug market. Six synthetic cannabinoids and six synthetic cathinones were synthesized, that, at the time for this study, were not as yet found in drug seizures. Further, a selection of their spectroscopic data is compared to those of already existing analogues; mainly isomers and homologues. The applied techniques were mass spectrometry (MS), Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR, gas phase) spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In total, 59 different compounds were analyzed with the selected techniques.

The synthetic cannabinoids phenomenon: from structure to toxicological properties. A review

“…Remarkable examples of this are "AKB-48" and "2NE1", whose names derive from Japanese and South Korean feminine bands, respectively, as an alternative to their chemical names, APINACA that comes from N-(1-adamantyl)-1-pentyl-1H-indazole-3-carboxamide and APICA that comes from N-(1-adamantyl)-1-pentyl-1Hindole-3-carboxamide. Another example is the synthetic compound XLR-11 that appears to have been named after the first liquid fuel rocket developed in the USA for use in aircraft, perhaps alluding to the vendor's intention for those who consume the substance (Carlsson 2016;EMCDDA 2017;Iversen 2018).…”

“…Even though most of the reported cannabinoids follows the general structure depicted in Figure 4, there are also other SCs with affinity for the cannabinoid receptor that have other base structures (Carlsson 2016).…”