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Synthetic and semisynthetic opioids are pivotal in pain management and tackling opioid addiction. Semisynthetic opioids, including morphinans (morphine derivatives), oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone, have improved pharmacokinetic profiles compared to morphine. Additionally, heroin and 6-MAM (6-Monoacetylmorphine) show better CNS penetration than morphine due to heightened lipid solubility. Hydromorphone, a potent opioid, undergoes hepatic metabolism to form the active...
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Psychoactive drugs impact brain function, influencing perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior. These substances are grouped based on their effects and the mechanisms by which they act.
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Novel Opioids: Systematic Web Crawling Within the e-Psychonauts' Scenario.

Davide Arillotta1,2, Fabrizio Schifano2, Flavia Napoletano3

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A web crawler identified 426 opioids, including 234 fentanyl analogs, with 176 novel substances not in international databases. This highlights a significant public health risk from emerging, uncharacterized opioids.

Keywords:
drug misusefentanyl analogsnovel psychoactive substancenovel synthetic opioidsprescribed drug misusepsychonautsweb crawling

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Area of Science:

  • Pharmacology
  • Toxicology
  • Digital Forensics

Background:

  • Novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) and opioids are widely discussed online.
  • Prescription/non-prescription opioids and herbal derivatives pose challenges to public health.
  • E-psychonaut communities actively engage with these substances online.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the online landscape of opioids using a web crawling tool.
  • To identify novel and emerging opioid substances discussed by e-psychonauts.
  • To understand the scope of opioid analogs available online.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized NPS.Finder®, a web crawler, to navigate and analyze psychonaut forums and platforms.
  • Focused on identifying and cataloging opioid substances, including fentanyl analogs.
  • Compared identified substances against international and European NPS databases.

Main Results:

  • Identified 426 distinct opioid substances, with 234 being fentanyl analogs.
  • Discovered 176 opioid substances not listed in any international or European NPS databases.
  • Included in the novel findings were 162 potent fentanyls, such as ohmefentanyl and carfentanyl analogs.

Conclusions:

  • Web crawling effectively identified a substantial number of unknown opioids with high misuse potential.
  • Many novel opioid analogs remain uncharacterized, posing unknown toxicodynamic risks.
  • Enhanced collaboration between clinicians and bioinformaticians is crucial for assessing public health risks of emerging opioids.