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Updated: Jun 20, 2026
High-throughput and Comprehensive Drug Surveillance Using Multisegment Injection-Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry
Published on: April 23, 2019
[Monitoring precursor chemicals through enantiomer profiling of methamphetamine]
Jianxin Zhang1, Daming Zhang, Wenfang Zhang
1Forensic Medical Examination Center of Beijing Public Security Bureau, Beijing 100085, China. zhangjianxin7292000@yahoo.com.cn
Objective:
The enantiomer profiling of methamphetamine is can be utilized for regulation of the precursors, investigatin of the drug case.
Methods:
In the present study, we investigated on the enantiomer of 114 crystalline methamphetamine samples seized in Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang and Chengdu. The methamphetamine samples were derivatized with (S)-(+)-a-methoxya-(trifluoromethyl)phenylacetyl chloride ((S)-(+)-MTPACl), and the derivatives were analyzed by GC-MS in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode.
Results:
Most of the seizures were pure S (+)-enantiomer (90.4%), but 3.5% (4 of 114 samples) contained R(-)-enantiomer above 1%.
Conclusion:
This indicates that the majority of samples were prepared from either (1R, 2S)-(-)-ephedrine or (1S, 2S)-(+)-pseudoephedrine. At the same time, there were methamphetamine drugs synthesized from (1S, 2R)-(-)-ephedrine or (1R, 2R)-(+)-pseudoephedrine.
