Screening method for rapid classification of psychoactive substances in illicit tablets using mid infrared...

Area of Science:

• Forensic Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• The rise of new psychoactive substances (NPS) has led to an increase in novel compounds, including cathinones and tryptamines, found in illicit ecstasy-like tablets.
• Traditional drug identification methods may struggle to keep pace with the rapid emergence of these NPS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a rapid, presumptive method for identifying various drugs, including NPS, in seized ecstasy-like tablets.
• To establish a reliable analytical approach for forensic laboratories to address the evolving drug market.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) for sample analysis.
• Employed Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) with a hierarchical strategy for drug classification.
• Developed main and sub-models to discriminate between different drug classes and specific compounds.

Main Results:

• The main PLS-DA model successfully discriminated four classes: 5-MeO-MIPT, methylenedioxyamphetamines (MDMA and MDA), methamphetamine, and cathinones with 96.8% reliability and 100% accordance.
• Sub-models for methylenedioxyamphetamines and cathinones achieved 100% reliability and accordance.
• Spectral interpretation corroborated the reliability of the models, enabling specific drug identification.

Conclusions:

• The developed ATR-FTIR and PLS-DA method provides a simple, fast, and reliable approach for identifying drugs in seized ecstasy tablets.
• This method is suitable for routine forensic laboratory application, offering objective results for forensic scientists and law enforcement.
• The technique effectively addresses the challenge of identifying emerging NPS in the illicit drug supply.