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Published on: April 23, 2019
Distribution of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) in postmortem and antemortem
Ray H Liu1, Hsiu-Chuan Liu, Dong-Liang Lin
1Department of Forensic Toxicology, Institute of Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Justice, Taipei, Taiwan.
Abstract:
With increasing requests for the analysis of various specimens related to fatal and non-fatal abuse of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy, MDMA), the toxicology laboratory of the Institute of Forensic Medicine has established protocols for the analysis of MDMA and related compounds in hair, urine, and various postmortem specimens. Analytical protocols include extraction, derivatization, and gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis adapting deuterated analogs of the analytes as internal standards. Data resulting from these analyses and hereby reported include postmortem distribution of MDMA and methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) in heart blood, gastric content, urine, and bile specimens from 20 fatal cases; other drugs found in the heart blood from these 20 cases; and the distribution of MDMA and MDA in 25 antemortem urine and 6 hair specimens. The MDA/MDMA concentration ratio observed in a limited number of hair specimens (n=6) are consistent and appear to be higher than those found in other specimens. Compared to other commonly abused drugs (e.g., cocaine and heroin), the "drug/metabolite" concentration ratio (MDMA/MDA) in hair is not significantly different from the ratios derived from other specimens, such as urine and blood. This observation is consistent with the relative drug/metabolite incorporation rates reported for cocaine/benzoylecgonine, tetrahydrocannabinol/tetrahydrocannabinoic acid, and MDMA/MDA.
Insights
Forensic analysis of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in biological samples like hair and urine is now standardized. MDMA and its metabolite MDA show consistent ratios across various specimens, aiding in abuse analysis.
Area of Science:
- Forensic Toxicology
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Increasing requests for methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy, MDMA) analysis in fatal and non-fatal abuse cases.
- Need for standardized analytical protocols for MDMA and related compounds in diverse biological matrices.
Purpose of the Study:
- Establish and validate analytical protocols for MDMA and related compounds in hair, urine, and postmortem specimens.
- Determine the postmortem and antemortem distribution of MDMA and its metabolite, methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA).
- Investigate the drug/metabolite concentration ratios in different biological specimens, particularly hair.
Main Methods:
- Development of extraction, derivatization, and gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) methods.
- Utilization of deuterated analogs as internal standards for accurate quantification.
- Analysis of postmortem specimens (heart blood, gastric content, urine, bile) from 20 fatal cases.
- Analysis of antemortem urine (25 cases) and hair (6 cases) specimens.
Main Results:
- Reported postmortem distribution of MDMA and MDA in various fatal case specimens.
- Identified other co-occurring drugs in heart blood from fatal cases.
- Observed consistent MDA/MDMA concentration ratios in hair specimens, potentially higher than in other matrices.
- Found no significant difference in the MDMA/MDA ratio in hair compared to urine and blood, aligning with known drug/metabolite incorporation rates.
Conclusions:
- Established robust analytical protocols for MDMA and MDA detection in forensic toxicology.
- The consistent drug/metabolite ratios support the utility of hair analysis for long-term MDMA exposure assessment.
- Findings contribute to a better understanding of MDMA pharmacokinetics and its detection in forensic investigations.
