title: Origin differentiation of heroin sample and its acetylating agent with (13)C isotope ratio mass spectrometry.
abstract: A novel method for deducing the origins of heroin and the reagent used for acetylation was established based on delta(13)C determinations of heroin and its hydrolysate, morphine, using gas chromatography (13)C isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). The alkaline and acid hydrolysis conditions of heroin were optimized. Both yield and purity of morphine produced could meet the requirement for a GC-C-IRMS analysis. Using (2-diethylaminoethyl-2,2- diphenylvalerate) as internal standard the determinations of heroin and morphine contents were performed with a GC method in a linear range of 0.2 to 2.0 mg ml(1) that was required to gain the isotope ratio results. The hydrolysis and synthesis of heroin did not change the delta(13)C value of morphine. The precision for delta(13)C detection of both heroin and morphine was sufficient for origin differentiation of heroin samples. The information about the origins of acetylation reagents could be deduced from the difference of delta(13)C values between heroin and morphine. The results for origin differentiation of 10 heroin samples grouped into different regions and their acetylating agents were satisfactory.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Education Ministry of China, Department of Chemistry, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Daming
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Zengping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Huangxian
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ju
authors.forename: Xuejun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Chonghu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D003932:Heroin / Q000737:chemistry*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D009020:Morphine / Q000737:chemistry; D012015:Reference Standards; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D003932:Heroin; D009020:Morphine