title: 3-Methylmethcathinone--Interpretation of Blood Concentrations Based on Analysis of 95 Cases.
abstract: 3-Methylmethcathinone (3-MMC) has been one of the most popular new psychoactive substances (NPS) in Poland in recent years. 3-MMC was found in blood in 95 cases sent to the Institute of Forensic Research (IFR) during the two and a half year period, from 2013 to half of 2015. 3-MMC was determined in 13 and 48 cases in 2013 and 2014 year-round casework, respectively, while only in the first half of 2015 year it was present in 34 cases. In most cases, 3-MMC was detected together with other novel psychoactive substances and conventional drugs. Blood analyses for 3-MMC were carried out using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). The concentrations of 3-MMC in all 95 cases were in the range from traces (<1 ng/mL) up to 1.6 µg/mL (mean concentration 51.3 ng/mL, median 18.5 ng/mL). Concentration ranges in particular types of cases were respectively: DUID cases: 1-171 ng/mL; traffic accidents: <1-29 ng/mL; drug possession: 2-408 ng/mL; intoxication: <1-1600 ng/mL and other: <1-61 ng/mL. The parameters of the developed method such as the LOD (0.02 ng/mL) and LOQ (1 ng/mL) demonstrate that the method is well suited for the analysis of blood samples for 3-MMC and covers the range of typical blood concentrations.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31-033 Krakow, Poland padamowicz@ies.krakow.pl.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Adamowicz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31-033 Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gieroń
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31-033 Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Dominika
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31-033 Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lechowicz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31-033 Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Skulska
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31-033 Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tokarczyk
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002138:Calibration; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D015198:Designer Drugs / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008297:Male; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D011044:Poland; D011786:Quality Control; D012015:Reference Standards; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015198:Designer Drugs; D008694:Methamphetamine; C000595610:3-methylmethcathinone