title: The identification of 3,4-MDMA from its mass equivalent isomers and isobaric substances using fast LC-ESI-MS-MS.
abstract: 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (3,4-MDMA, "Ecstacy") and its 17 isomers and isobaric substances are studied using liquid chromatography (LC)-positive electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (MS). 3,4-MDMA is a controlled substance, whereas in many countries the other studied isobaric compounds are not. A method for confirmation of the presence of 3,4-MDMA in drug seizures is developed and validated. Using single MS, the compounds produce an intense protonated molecule and some characteristic fragments; but tandem MS (MS-MS) is applied to enhance specificity. The MS-MS fragmentation is studied in order to distinguish 3,4-MDMA from the other 17 related compounds. However, the MS-MS spectra of 3,4-MDMA and six related compounds are very similar. Therefore, the LC-MS-MS method is developed for the unambiguous identification of 3,4-MDMA. The use of a monolithic column allows for 5-min gradient runs. This qualitative method is tested with 49 Ecstacy samples seized by the police. All results are congruent with the ones obtained with other methods.
authors.affiliation: University of Helsinki, Viikki Drug Discovery Technology Center and Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, P.O. Box 56, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland. katja.pihlainen@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pihlainen
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aalberg
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tepponen
authors.forename: C Randall
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Risto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kostiainen
mesh_terms: D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D007536:Isomerism; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine