title: Determination of a newly encountered designer drug "p-methoxyethylamphetamine" and its metabolites in human urine and blood.
abstract: A newly synthesized designer drug, para-methoxyethylamphetamine (PMEA) was unexpectedly detected in the postmortem specimens of fatality involving drug intoxication in 2005, Japan. For unequivocal identification, the isomeric discrimination of PMEA and its positional-isomers was performed by GC/MS with the trifluoroacetylation. In order to prove the intake of PMEA, the characteristic metabolites of PMEA were also identified by GC/MS analysis of the urine specimen with trifluoroacetylation. As a result, para-methoxyamphetamine, para-hydroxyethylamphetamine (POHEA) and para-hydroxyamphetamine were identified as the major metabolites of PMEA. For the quantitative analyses of PMEA and its three metabolites in body fluids, an automated column-switching LC/MS procedure was developed, and applied to the postmortem blood and urine specimens. In this fatal case, blood concentration of PMEA was estimated to be 12.2 microg/mL and this level seemed extremely high in comparison with lethal blood-levels of its analogues, representing acute-intoxication of the victim. Based on the quantitative results, PMEA was found to be extensively metabolized to POHEA via O-demethylation, partly followed by its conjugation.
authors.affiliation: Forensic Science Laboratory, Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters, Japan. k_zaitsu_fsl_opp@ybb.ne.jp
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zaitsu
authors.forename: Munehiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Katagi
authors.forename: Tooru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamata
authors.forename: Hiroe
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kamata
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shima
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsuchihashi
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Hisanaga
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuroki
authors.forename: Ryoji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Matoba
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000662:Amphetamines / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine*; D015198:Designer Drugs / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine
chemical_list: D000662:Amphetamines; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D015198:Designer Drugs; C060169:4-methoxymethamphetamine; D008694:Methamphetamine; C104316:4-hydroxy-3-methoxyethylamphetamine