Chemical identification of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromoamphetamine (DOB)

The consumption of synthetic drugs, generally known as designer drugs, has increased drastically in all parts of the world. Typical constituents of designer synthetic drugs are chemical substances derived from amphetamine but significant differences in effects caused and duration may result. In May, 2005, the civil state police of Sao Paulo seized thirty-one gelatinous capsules containing a very small quantity of a white powder inside (approximately 1.5 mg per capsule). This paper describes the analytical assays that were used to identify the seized material. Preliminary assays using colorimetric tests and high performance thin-layer chromatography indicated that the capsules content could be an amphetamine derivative. In the capillary zone electrophoresis assay, it was possible to observe that the analyzed material had basic characteristics. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the compound had the same molecular mass as 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromoamphetamine (DOB) and its identity was confirmed through collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments. Finally, the comparison of infrared sample spectrum with a spectra library provided further evidence of the DOB presence in the seized material. Although a reference standard material was not available, the information gathered from the different assays allowed the conclusion that the substance was, in fact, DOB, a substance with a powerful hallucinogenic action of proscribed use in the country and which was seized and identified for the first time in Brazil.