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Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Preparation and In Vivo Use of an Activity-based Probe for N-acylethanolamine Acid Amidase
Published on: November 23, 2016
Profiling ephedrine prepared from N-methylalanine via the Akabori-Momotani reaction
Alexandra Doddridge1,2, Michael Collins1, Helen Salouros1
1National Measurement Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Abstract:
Novel methods for synthesising methylamphetamine precursors are appearing in clandestine laboratories within Australia. One such laboratory involved the synthesis of ephedrine from N-methylalanine and benzaldehyde via the Akabori-Momotani reaction. This article presents chiral and stable isotope ratios of ephedrine synthesised via this method, along with a chemical profile of methylamphetamine produced from this ephedrine. Based on the chiral results and the δ13 C, δ15 N, and δ2 H values, it is possible to distinguish ephedrine made via the Akabori-Momotani reaction from ephedrine of a "natural", "semi-synthetic", or "fully-synthetic" origin. Methylamphetamine and ephedrine samples synthesised from benzaldehyde having an enriched δ2 H value (ie, > 0‰), via the Akabori-Momotani reaction, had an isotopic profile which set them apart from all other methylamphetamine samples. It was noted, however, that using stable isotope ratios alone to determine the precursor of methylamphetamine is limited; they could not with confidence differentiate between methylamphetamine and ephedrine synthesised from benzaldehyde having a depleted δ2 H value (ie, <0‰) from other ephedrine sources and phenyl-2-propanone based methylamphetamine samples profiled.
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