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Potential 2-Aminoindane Fatality Invalidated by Careful Mass Spectrometric Analysis
Marine Deville1, Nathalie Dubois1, Corinne Charlier1
1Laboratory of Clinical, Forensic and Environmental Toxicology, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Medicines (CIRM), Central University Hospital of Liege, Liege 4000, Belgium.
Journal of Analytical Toxicology
|November 5, 2020
Summary
A new psychoactive substance screening initially suggested 2-aminoindane (2-AI) in a patient. Further testing revealed a false positive, attributing the patient's death solely to infection.
Area of Science:
- Forensic Toxicology
- Analytical Chemistry
- Mass Spectrometry
Background:
- New psychoactive substances (NPS) pose challenges in emergency toxicology.
- Accurate identification of NPS is crucial for patient management and forensic investigations.
Observation:
- A patient presented with severe ENT symptoms, and chemsex was suspected.
- Initial high-resolution mass spectrometry screening of serum suggested the presence of 2-aminoindane (2-AI).
- Discrepancies in retention time and ion ratios between the sample and reference standard indicated a potential false positive.
Findings:
- Spiking the sample with a 2-AI reference standard resulted in two distinct peaks, confirming the absence of 2-AI.
- The initial mass spectrometry result was a false positive, likely due to interfering compounds or library limitations.
- A rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed, which also identified the false positive based on differing ion ratios.
Implications:
- This case highlights the critical importance of rigorous confirmation methods in NPS identification.
- Analytical chemists must be aware of potential interferences and the limitations of spectral matching in complex biological matrices.
- Properly validated methods are essential to avoid misattribution of cause of death and ensure accurate forensic conclusions.
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