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Ferrari Júnior E, da Rocha TMV, Santos JP, de Souza DM, Gomes EB, Alves BEP, de Andrade Gomes J, Salum LB, Lunardi CN, Arantes LC, da Silva Santos V. Irgafos 168 and Irganox 1076 as new cocaine cutting agents: A COVID-19 pandemic impact on cocaine profiling and trafficking in Brazil. Forensic Sci Int 2024; 354:111911. [PMID: 38154425 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2023.111911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUNDS Restrictions in movement and closure of borders imposed by the Sars-Cov- 2 worldwide pandemic have affected the global illicit drug market, including cocaine trafficking. In this scenario, comparing cutting agents added to the cocaine and the drug purity are valuable strategies to understand how the drug trade has been impacted by the pandemic. METHODS In this work, 204 cocaine salt materials seized in the Brazilian Federal District, before (2019) and during COVID-19 pandemics (2020) were analyzed by two analytical techniques: gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Statistical analyses, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), were applied to evaluate the COVID-19 pandemic impact in the local market. Bibliometric analysis was performed as a forensic intelligence tool. RESULTS From 2019-2020, cocaine average purity decreased 26 % while the frequency of cutting agents, as caffeine and anesthetics (lidocaine, tetracaine) increased. The high percentage of unknown were increased. Different cocaine profiling seized in 2020 showed new cutting agents, such as Irganox 1076, and Irgafos 168, indicating a trend on new adulterants/diluents introduced in the local market to mitigate the local drug shortage. Also in 2020, there was an increase in the local cocaine seizures, despite of the cocaine drug purity decreased by 26 % compared to 2019. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, these data showed that the covid-19 pandemics has impacted cocaine trafficking in the Brazilian Federal District, an increase in cocaine seizures, which may indicate greater demand for the drug and, specially, changes in the cocaine purity and cutting agents profiling showing how traffickers tried to minimize difficulties in crossing the Brazilian border during COVID-19 restrictions. The information is relevant since Brazil is one of the major departure points for traded cocaine to the world. Bibliometric analysis showed that Irgafos 168 and Irganox 1076 were consistently identified as cocaine cutting agents for the first time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ettore Ferrari Júnior
- Forensic Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, Criminalistics Institute - Civil Police of the Brazilian Federal District (PCDF), Brasilia, DF, Brazil
| | | | - Junior Pereira Santos
- Laboratory of Photochemistry and Nanobiotechnology, Faculty of Ceilandia, University of Brasilia (UnB), Brasilia, DF, Brazil; Laboratory of Toxicological Analysis (AToxLab), Faculty of Ceilandia, University of Brasília (UnB), Brasilia, DF, Brazil
| | - Diego Mendes de Souza
- Forensic Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, Criminalistics Institute - Civil Police of the Brazilian Federal District (PCDF), Brasilia, DF, Brazil
| | - Eliude Barbosa Gomes
- Forensic Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, Criminalistics Institute - Civil Police of the Brazilian Federal District (PCDF), Brasilia, DF, Brazil
| | - Bárbara Elisa Pereira Alves
- Forensic Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, Criminalistics Institute - Civil Police of the Brazilian Federal District (PCDF), Brasilia, DF, Brazil
| | - Juliano de Andrade Gomes
- Forensic Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, Criminalistics Institute - Civil Police of the Brazilian Federal District (PCDF), Brasilia, DF, Brazil
| | - Lívia Barros Salum
- Forensic Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, Criminalistics Institute - Civil Police of the Brazilian Federal District (PCDF), Brasilia, DF, Brazil
| | - Claure Nain Lunardi
- Laboratory of Photochemistry and Nanobiotechnology, Faculty of Ceilandia, University of Brasilia (UnB), Brasilia, DF, Brazil
| | - Luciano Chaves Arantes
- Forensic Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, Criminalistics Institute - Civil Police of the Brazilian Federal District (PCDF), Brasilia, DF, Brazil
| | - Vivian da Silva Santos
- Laboratory of Toxicological Analysis (AToxLab), Faculty of Ceilandia, University of Brasília (UnB), Brasilia, DF, Brazil.
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Cascini F, Altamura G, Failla G, Gentili A, Puleo V, Melnyk A, Causio F, Ricciardi W. Approaches to priority identification in digital health in ten countries of the Global Digital Health Partnership. Front Digit Health 2022; 4:968953. [PMID: 36339514 PMCID: PMC9632991 DOI: 10.3389/fdgth.2022.968953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND To promote shared digital health best practices in a global context, as agreed within the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP), one of the most important topics to evaluate is the ability to detect what participating countries believe to be priorities suitable to improve their healthcare systems. No previously published scientific papers investigated these aspects as a cross-country comparison. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to present results concerning the priorities identification section of the Evidence and Evaluation survey addressed to GDHP members in 2021, comparing countries' initiatives and perspectives for the future of digital health based on internationally agreed developments. METHODS This survey followed a cross-sectional study approach. An online survey was addressed to the stakeholders of 29 major countries. RESULTS Ten out of 29 countries answered the survey. The mean global score of 3.54 out of 5, calculated on the whole data set, demonstrates how the global attention to a digital evolution in health is shared by most of the evaluated countries. CONCLUSION The resulting insights on the differences between digital health priority identification among different GDHP countries serves as a starting point to coordinate further progress on digital health worldwide and foster evidence-based collaboration.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gerardo Altamura
- Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy
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