title: The detection of NBOMe designer drugs on blotter paper by high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) with and without chromatography.
abstract: New psychoactive substances (NPS) have been associated with fatalities and severe injuries in a number of cases in the United States and have led investigators to rethink traditional drug monitoring protocols. Of particular interest are the variable phenethylamine chemical structures known as 'NBOMes', which pose an emerging threat to public health with incidence steadily growing over the past decade. In this study, direct sample analysis (DSA)-time of flight mass spectrometry was employed to leverage rapid and sensitive ambient ionization mass spectrometry without chromatographic separation as verified with an authentic case sample. Samples for method development were prepared at Boston University School of Medicine's Biomedical Forensic Sciences program (Boston, MA) and analyzed at the State of Maine Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory's Forensic Chemistry Section (Augusta, ME). Preliminary method development work was performed at the University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL). DSA without any extraction step in addition to the evaluation of methanol, dichloromethane and hexane extractions were conducted. Methanol was found to not be a suitable extraction solvent for DSA analysis of these compounds. For the screening of NBOMe designer drug variables on blotter paper, DSA-TOFMS was successful at reducing analysis time to ∼15s per sample, for qualitative identification for the selected analytes of interest. The analysis of an authentic forensic case sample by DSA-TOFMS using the method development parameters demonstrates its utility in forensic laboratories. 25C-NBOMe was identified with an exact mass accuracy of 0.60ppm.
authors: Boston University School of Medicine, Biomedical Forensic Sciences, 72 East Concord Street, Boston, MA 02118, United States. Electronic address: sabraj@bu.edu.
authors: Sabra
authors: S
authors: Botch-Jones
authors: State of Maine Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory, 221 State Street, Augusta, ME 04333, United States. Electronic address: jamie.s.foss@maine.gov.
authors: Jamie
authors: J
authors: Foss
authors: Boston University School of Medicine, Biomedical Forensic Sciences, 72 East Concord Street, Boston, MA 02118, United States. Electronic address: dbarajas@bu.edu.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Barajas
authors: PerkinElmer Environmental Health, 2651 Warrenville Road, Suite 100, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States. Electronic address: frank.kero@perkinelmer.com.
authors: Frank
authors: F
authors: Kero
authors: PerkinElmer Environmental Health, 2651 Warrenville Road, Suite 100, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States. Electronic address: craig.young@perkinelmer.com.
authors: Craig
authors: C
authors: Young
authors: PerkinElmer Environmental Health, 2651 Warrenville Road, Suite 100, Downers Grove, IL 60515, United States. Electronic address: Jason.weisenseel@perkinelmer.com.
authors: Jason
authors: J
authors: Weisenseel
mesh_terms: D002845:Chromatography; D015198:Designer Drugs / Q000737:chemistry*; D064423:Drug Trafficking; D006213:Hallucinogens / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D010209:Paper; D010627:Phenethylamines / Q000737:chemistry*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders
chemical_list: C000612304:2,5-dimethoxy-N-benzylphenethylamine; D015198:Designer Drugs; D006213:Hallucinogens; D010627:Phenethylamines
keywords: Dimethoxyphenyl-N-[(2-methoxyphenyl)methyl]ethanamine; Direct sample analysis; NBOMe(s); New psychoactive substances; Time-of-flight mass spectrometry