Chemical classification of new psychoactive substances (NPS)

2-Methyl-4'-(methylthio)-2-morpholinopropiophenone: A commercial photoinitiator being used as a new psychoactive substance

Synthetic cathinones, which are novel psychoactive substances, have caused major social problems worldwide. A substance called 2-methyl-4'-(methylthio)-2-morpholinopropiophenone (MMMP), which is employed as a commercial industrial photoinitiator for triggering polymerization, has a basic cathinone backbone; however, few reports regarding MMMP have been published. In the current study, three potential metabolites of MMMP-namely hydroxy-MMMP (HO-MMMP), HO-MMMP-sulfoxide (HO-MMMP-SO), and HO-MMMP-sulfone (HO-MMMP-SO2)-were successfully synthesized, and MMMP and these three potential metabolites were used as standards to establish an analytic method based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the quantitative analysis of urine. This analytic method and related parameters-including dynamic range, limit of quantification, selectivity, precision, accuracy, carryover effect, matrix effect, interference, and dilution integrity-were optimized and validated. Forty urine samples from 1,691 individuals who abused drugs were determined to contain MMMP, HO-MMMP, HO-MMMP-SO, or HO-MMMP-SO2; the results of this study indicate that approximately 2.37 % of drug abusers in Taiwan consumed MMMP in 2023. These 40 urine samples were analyzed to investigate the metabolism of MMMP in humans. The results indicate that HO-MMMP-SO is the main metabolite in human urine. This study recommends HO-MMMP-SO with a concentration of 2 ng/mL as a target and cutoff value, respectively, for identifying individuals who have consumed MMMP.

Target and Nontarget Screening to Support Capacity Scaling for Substance Use Assessment through a Statewide Wastewater Surveillance Network in New York

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been widely implemented around the world as a complementary tool to conventional surveillance techniques to inform and improve public health responses. Currently, wastewater surveillance programs in the U.S. are evaluating integrated approaches to address public health challenges across multiple domains, including substance abuse. In this work, we demonstrated the potential of online solid-phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry to support targeted quantification and nontargeted analysis of psychoactive and lifestyle substances as a step toward understanding the operational feasibility of a statewide wastewater surveillance program for substance use assessment in New York. Target screening confirmed 39 substances in influent samples collected from 10 wastewater treatment plants with varying sewershed characteristics and is anticipated to meet the throughput demands as the statewide program scales up to full capacity. Nontarget screening prioritized additional compounds for identification at three confidence levels, including psychoactive substances, such as opioid analgesics, phenethylamines, and cathinone derivatives. Consumption rates of 12 target substances detected in over 80% of wastewater samples were similar to those reported by previous U.S.-based WBE studies despite the uncertainty associated with back-calculations. For selected substances, the relative bias in consumption estimates was sensitive to variations in monitoring frequency, and factors beyond human excretion (e.g., as indicated by the parent-to-metabolite ratios) might also contribute to their prevalence at the sewershed scale. Overall, our study marks the initial phase of refining analytical workflows and data interpretation in preparation for the incorporation of substance use assessment into the statewide wastewater surveillance program in New York.

Metabolic Stability and Metabolite Identification of N-Ethyl Pentedrone Using Rat, Mouse and Human Liver Microsomes

New Psychoactive Substances (NPSs) are defined as a group of substances produced from molecular modifications of traditional drugs. These molecules represent a public health problem since information about their metabolites and toxicity is poorly understood. N-ethyl pentedrone (NEP) is an NPS that was identified in the illicit market for the first time in the mid-2010s, with four intoxication cases later described in the literature. This study aims to evaluate the metabolic stability of NEP as well as to identify its metabolites using three liver microsomes models. To investigate metabolic stability, NEP was incubated with rat (RLM), mouse (MLM) and human (HLM) liver microsomes and its concentration over time evaluated by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. For metabolite identification, the same procedure was employed, but the samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. Different metabolism profiles were observed depending on the model employed and kinetic parameters were determined. The in vitro NEP elimination half-lives (t1/2) were 12.1, 187 and 770 min for the rat, mouse and human models, respectively. Additionally, in vitro intrinsic clearances (Cl int, in vitro) were 229 for rat, 14.8 for mouse, and 3.6 μL/min/mg in the human model, and in vivo intrinsic clearances (Cl int, in vivo) 128, 58.3, and 3.7 mL/min/kg, respectively. The HLM model had the lowest rate of metabolism when compared to RLM and MLM. Also, twelve NEP metabolites were identified from all models, but at different rates of production.

Toxic effects of AB-CHMINACA on liver and kidney and detection of its blood level in adult male mice

BACKGROUND

AB-CHMINACA is a cannabimimetic indazole derivative. In 2013, it was reported in different countries as a substance of abuse.

PURPOSE

This study evaluated the subacute toxic effects of AB-CHMINACA on the liver and kidneys and measured its blood level in adult male mice.

METHODS

The histological and biochemical subacute toxic effects on the liver and kidneys were assessed after four weeks of daily intraperitoneal injections of one of the following doses: 0.3 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg, or 10 mg/kg as the highest dose in adult male albino mice. In addition, the blood concentration level of AB-CHMINACA was determined by GC-MS-MS.

RESULTS

The histological effects showed congestion, hemorrhage, degeneration, and cellular infiltration of the liver and kidney tissues. Considering the control groups as a reference, biochemical results indicated a significant increase in the serum AST only in the highest dose group, while the ALT and creatinine levels did not significantly change. The mean values of AB-CHMINACA blood levels were 3.05 ± 1.16, 15.08 ± 4.30, and 54.43 ± 8.70 ng/mL for the three treated groups, respectively, one hour after the last dose of intraperitoneal injection. The calibration curves were linear in the 2.5-500 ng/mL concentration range. The intra-assay precision and accuracy of the method were less than 7.0% (RSD) and ± 9.2% (Bias).

CONCLUSION

This research supports the available case reports on AB-CHMINACA toxicity that it has low lethality; still, the chronic administration causes evident liver and kidney histotoxic effects even at low doses with unnoticeable clinical effects in mice.

Acute, chronic, and post-mortem toxicity: a review focused on three different classes of new psychoactive substances

PURPOSE

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are not controlled under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 or the 1971 Convention, but they may pose a public health threat. Knowledge of the main properties and toxicological effects of these substances is lacking. According to the current Drugs Law (Law n. 11.343/2006), the Brazilian Surveillance Agency issues directives for forbidden substances in Brazil, and structural classes of synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, and phenylethylamines are considered illicit drugs. Considering that data on these controlled substances are scattered, the main objective of this work was to collect and organize data to generate relevant information on the toxicological properties of NPS.

METHODS

We carried out a literature review collecting information on the acute, chronic, and post-mortem toxicity of these classes of NSP. We searched info in five scientific databases considering works from 2017 to 2021 and performed a statistical evaluation of the data.

RESULTS

Results have shown a general lack of studies in this field given that many NPS have not had their toxicity evaluated. We observed a significant difference in the volume of data concerning acute and chronic/post-mortem toxicity. Moreover, studies on the adverse effects of polydrug use are scarce.

CONCLUSIONS

More in-depth information about the main threats involving NPS use are needed.

Luminescence-based detection and identification of illicit drugs

Luminescence-based sensing is capable of being used for the sensitive, rapid, and in some cases selective detection of chemicals. Furthermore, the method is amenable to incorporation into handheld low-power portable detectors that can be used in the field. Luminescence-based detectors are now commercially available for explosive detection with the technology built on a strong foundation of science. In contrast, there are fewer examples of luminescence-based detection of illicit drugs, despite the pervasive and global challenge of combating their manufacture, distribution and consumption and the need for handheld detection systems. This perspective describes the relatively nascent steps that have been reported in the use of luminescent materials for the detection of illicit drugs. Much of the published work has focused on detection of illicit drugs in solution with less work on vapour detection using thin luminescent sensing films. The latter are better suited for handheld sensing devices and detection in the field. Illicit drug detection has been achieved via different mechanisms, all of which change the luminescence of the sensing material. These include photoinduced hole transfer (PHT) leading to quenching of the luminescence, disruption of Förster energy transfer between different chromophores by a drug, and chemical reaction between the sensing material and a drug. The most promising of these is PHT, which can be used for rapid and reversible detection of illicit drugs in solution and film-based sensing of drugs in the vapour phase. However, there are still significant knowledge gaps, for example, how vapours of illicit drugs interact with the sensing films, and how to achieve selectivity for specific drugs.

Synthesis of emerging cathinones and validation of a SPE GC-MS method for their simultaneous quantification in blood

Over the past 15 years, synthetic cathinones have emerged as an important class of new psychoactive substances (NPS) worldwide. The proliferation of these psychostimulants and their sought-after effects among recreational drug users pose a serious threat to public health and enormous challenges to forensic laboratories. For forensic institutions, it is essential to be one step ahead of covert laboratories, foreseeing the structural changes possible to introduce in the core skeleton of cathinones while maintaining their stimulating activity. In this manner, it is feasible to equip themselves with standards of possible new cathinones and validated analytical methods for their qualitative and quantitative detection. Therefore, the aim of the work herein described was to synthesize emerging cathinones based on the evolving patterns in the illicit drug market, and to develop an analytical method for their accurate determination in forensic situations. Five so far unreported cathinones [4'-methyl-N-dimethylbuphedrone (4-MDMB), 4'-methyl-N-ethylbuphedrone (4-MNEB), 4'-methyl-N-dimethylpentedrone (4-MDMP), 4'-methyl-N-dimethylhexedrone (4-MDMH), and 4'-methyl-N-diethylbuphedrone (4-MDEB)] and a sixth one, 4'-methyl-N-ethylpentedrone, already reported to EMCDDA and also known as 4-MEAP, were synthesized and fully characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS). An analytical method for the simultaneous quantification of these cathinones in blood, using solid phase extraction (SPE) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed and validated. The results prove that this methodology is selective, linear, precise, and accurate. For all target cathinones, the extraction efficiency was higher than 73%, linearity was observed in the range of 10 (lower limit of quantification, LLOQ) to 800 ng/mL, with coefficients of determination higher than 0.99, and the limits of detection (LODs) were 5 ng/mL for all target cathinones. The stability of these cathinones in blood matrices is dependent on the storage conditions; 4-MNEB is the most stable compound and 4-MDMH is the least stable compound. The low limits obtained allow the detection of the compounds in situations where they are involved, even if present at low concentrations.

Magnitude and Associated Factors of Psychoactive Substance Use among Youths at Selected Administrative Towns of North Shewa Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Youth and adolescent psychoactive substance use is a major public health problem worldwide which affects the health of individuals, families, and the community as a whole. This study was aimed at assessing the level of psychoactive substance use and the associated factors among the youths of North Sowa zone, Amhara region, Ethiopia, 2020/21. Community based cross-sectional study design with a multistage sampling technique was used. A total of 632 youths were involved in the study. Linear logistic regression analysis was used for both bivariate and multivariate analysis. The prevalence of life time and current psychoactive substance use was found to be 66.1% and 65%, respectively. Male sex and history of substance use from family members and friends were significantly associated with psychoactive substance use. In this study, the prevalence of life time and current psychoactive substance use was high as compared to other studies conducted in Ethiopia.

New Psychoactive Substances: Awareness and Attitudes of Future Health Care Professionals in Serbia

This study was conducted in order to evaluate prospective health care professionals' (HCPs) awareness and attitudes regarding new psychoactive substances (NPSs) in the context of their future role in the prevention and treatment of NPS overdose and addiction. Correlates of NPS perception and use were also examined. This cross-sectional survey was performed on 490 students of the Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad, Serbia, during 2017. NPS awareness was better in pharmacy students (IRR: 1.926, CI: 1.173-3.163, p = 0.010) than in medicine students-pharmacy students recognized 92.6% more NPS names than their peers studying medicine. Female students knew 36.5% less NPS names than their male colleagues (IRR: 0.635, CI: 0.399-1.013, p = 0.049). Number of NPS names students knew was rising by 15.9% with each age group-the higher the age, the larger the number of NPSs they were aware of (IRR: 1.159, CI: 1.025-1.310, p = 0.018). Students who had used marijuana knew 52.6% more NPS names than those who had never had experience with cannabis (IRR: 1.526, CI: 0.953-2.445, p = 0.049). Although a high number of future HCPs claimed to know what NPSs are, numerous misconceptions were noticed. Further educational efforts are necessary to improve their awareness and attitudes regarding NPSs.

Synthesis of Tertiary Amines through Extrusive Alkylation of Carbamates

Basic amines are key elements of many biologically active natural products and pharmaceuticals. Given their inherent reactivity, it is often necessary to protect basic amines during target-directed synthesis, which results in wasteful protection/deprotection sequences. We report a step-economical approach enabling the protection of secondary amines as carbamates prior to their conversion to tertiary amines via the formal extrusion of CO2. This method is applied to the synthesis of iboga alkaloids (±)-conodusine A and (±)-conodusine B.

Computer-Aided Methods for Molecular Classification

The study aims to analyze the degree of similarity of some molecules belonging to two subgroups of Aminoalkylindoles. After extracting the molecules’ characteristics using Cheminformatics methods, and the computation of the Tanimoto coefficients, dendrograms and heatmaps were built to reveal the degree of similarity of the analyzed drugs. Some atom-pair similarities between the molecules in the same group were detected. The clusters determined by the k-means method divided the Benzoylindoles into two subgroups but kept all the Phenylacetylindoles together in the same set. The activity spectrum of the elements in each group was also analyzed, and similarities have been emphasized. The clustering has been validated using the Kruskal–Wallis test on the series of computed probabilities of the main effects.

An Update on the Implications of New Psychoactive Substances in Public Health

The emergence of new psychoactive substances has earned a great deal of attention, and several reports of acute poisoning and deaths have been issued involving, for instance, synthetic opiates. In recent years, there have been profound alterations in the legislation concerning consumption, marketing, and synthesis of these compounds; rapid alert systems have also been subject to changes, and new substances and new markets, mainly through the internet, have appeared. Their effects and how they originate in consumers are still mostly unknown, primarily in what concerns chronic toxicity. This review intends to provide a detailed description of these substances from the point of view of consumption, toxicokinetics, and health consequences, including case reports on intoxications in order to help researchers and public health agents working daily in this area.

The Scale of Intoxications with New Psychoactive Substances over the Period 2014-2020-Characteristics of the Trends and Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Example of Łódź Province, Poland

Legal highs are new psychoactive substances (NPSs) which pose a high risk for human health, and the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has changed peoples’ behaviours, including the demand for NPS. The aim of the study was to assess both the frequency of intoxication with NPS in Łódź province over the period 2014−2020, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on developing this trend. An analysis was carried out of data on intoxications in Łódź province in the years 2014−2020 reported by hospitals. The medical interventions rate (MI) per 100,000 people in the population was calculated. The frequency of intoxications was compared taking sociodemographic variables into account, and the effect of seasonal influence on intoxications was calculated using the Holt−Winter multiplicative seasonal method. In the period considered, there were 7175 acute NPS poisonings in the Łódź province and 25,495 in Poland. The averaged MI rate between 2014−2020 was 9.45 for Poland and 38.53 for the Łódź province, and the lowest value was found during the COVID pandemic in the year 2020 (respectively, 2.1 vs. 16.94). NPS users were mainly young men of 19−24 years old from a big city. Most cases were registered at weekends and in summer months. The majority of intoxications were caused by unidentified psychoactive substances of legal highs (chi2 = 513.98, p < 0.05). The actual number of NPS-related poisonings in the Łódź province in 2020 was lower than the value extrapolated from trend analysis of data between 2014−2019. NPS use in Poland decreased during the pandemic. It should be noted that a decrease in the number of drug-related incidents can have more than one reason, e.g., preventive programs, increased awareness, or changes in the law. This paper advocates that, in addition to monitoring NPS-related intoxications, there is further investigation into the social, cultural, and behavioural determinants of NPS to facilitate targeted prevention programmes and the development of new medical treatments.

Environmental occurrence and ecological risks of psychoactive substances

Psychoactive substances are ubiquitous in the environment at low concentrations, and tobacco, cannabis, etc. are all widely-existing examples. Given their potent biological activity, psychoactive substances are suspected to be harmful to the environment, and reports of their ecological risks are gradually increasing. Since the 1990s, the investigations into psychoactive substances have made remarkable progress, yet some research fields still need to be modernised. For example, the unification of standardised analytical methods as well as the supplementation of occurrence literature. In addition, a relatively lagging risk evaluation system caused by a lack of toxicity data is particularly in need of improvement. The purpose of this article is to develop a review of current research on psychoactive substances, including analytical methods, distribution in environmental compartments, and ecological risk assessment, as well as to point out deficiencies and development prospects and to offer motivation for enhancing the research level in this field.

Computer-Aided Classification of New Psychoactive Substances

The appearance on the free market of synthetic cannabinoids raised the researchers’ interest in establishing their molecular similarity by QSAR analysis. A rigorous criterion for classifying drugs is their chemical structure. Therefore, this article presents the structural similarity of two groups of drugs: benzoylindoles and phenylacetylindoles. Statistical analysis and clustering of the molecules are performed based on their numerical characteristics extracted using Cheminformatics methods. Their similarities/dissimilarities are emphasized using the dendrograms and heat map. The highest discrepancies are found in the phenylacetylindoles group.

Survey and Synthesis of State of the Art in Driver Monitoring

Road vehicle accidents are mostly due to human errors, and many such accidents could be avoided by continuously monitoring the driver. Driver monitoring (DM) is a topic of growing interest in the automotive industry, and it will remain relevant for all vehicles that are not fully autonomous, and thus for decades for the average vehicle owner. The present paper focuses on the first step of DM, which consists of characterizing the state of the driver. Since DM will be increasingly linked to driving automation (DA), this paper presents a clear view of the role of DM at each of the six SAE levels of DA. This paper surveys the state of the art of DM, and then synthesizes it, providing a unique, structured, polychotomous view of the many characterization techniques of DM. Informed by the survey, the paper characterizes the driver state along the five main dimensions—called here “(sub)states”—of drowsiness, mental workload, distraction, emotions, and under the influence. The polychotomous view of DM is presented through a pair of interlocked tables that relate these states to their indicators (e.g., the eye-blink rate) and the sensors that can access each of these indicators (e.g., a camera). The tables factor in not only the effects linked directly to the driver, but also those linked to the (driven) vehicle and the (driving) environment. They show, at a glance, to concerned researchers, equipment providers, and vehicle manufacturers (1) most of the options they have to implement various forms of advanced DM systems, and (2) fruitful areas for further research and innovation.

Identification of 2C-B in Hair by UHPLC-HRMS/MS. A Real Forensic Case

The analysis of drugs of abuse in hair and other biological matrices of forensic interest requires great selectivity and sensitivity. This has been traditionally achieved through target analysis, using one or more analytical methods that include different preanalytical stages, and more complex procedures followed by toxicological laboratories. There is no exception with 2C-series drugs, such as 2C-B, a new psychoactive substance (NPS), which use has emerged and significantly increased, year by year, in the last decades. Continuously new analytical methods are required to selectively detect and identify these new marketed substances at very low concentrations. In this case report, one former case of a polydrug consumer (charged of a crime against public health in Spain) was reanalyzed in hair matrix. In this reanalysis, 2C-B has been positively detected and identified using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS). The most selective analytical UHPLC-HRMS/MS method alongside a universal and simpler pretreatment methodology has opened up more possibilities for the detection of substances of different chemical structure and optimization of different HRMS/MS detection approaches allowing the identification of 2-CB in the hair of a real forensic case.