ABSTRACT
Over the past few years, a continuous alteration of the recreational drug market took place. Among other novel psychoactive drugs, new synthetic tryptamine derivatives appeared on the market. These compounds are mainly traded via the Internet, which has become an important marketplace for the sale of recreational drugs. The goal of our research was to check, if 13 new synthetic tryptamines obtained by test purchase via different online vendors meet the promised identity. Analysis was performed by GC-MS, using a common 30 m HP-5MS capillary column as stationary phase. Subsequently, a simple HPLC method for the separation of these tryptamines was developed. Therefore, the aim was to establish a method to separate a broad spectrum of trypamines simultaneously within short time. Measurements were performed by a LiChrospher® RP-18e column and a mobile phase consisting of 0.1% triethylammonium acetate buffer, methanol and acetonitrile. Both presented methods were found to be suitable for the identification as well as separation of tryptamines as the analysis times were short and the selectivity sufficient. Moreover, enantioseparation of 3 chiral tryptamine derivatives purchased via the Internet by HPLC-UV and an Astec® Cyclobond I™ 2000 as CSP was performed. All of them were sold as racemic mixtures.
ABSTRACT
CONTEXTO: A Cannabis sativa (cannabis, maconha, marijuana) é uma droga de abuso com efeitos psicoativos e potencial terapêutico bastante conhecidos. Um grande número de canabinoides foi sintetizado na tentativa de excluir ou minimizar os efeitos psicotrópicos e mantendo as aplicações terapêuticas. Os canabinoides sintéticos representam o mais recente avanço das designer drugs. OBJETIVOS: Este trabalho busca trazer informações sobre a utilização de canabinoides sintéticos como drogas de abuso emergentes, principalmente sob a forma de spice ou herbal blends. MÉTODOS: Foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica na base de dados PubMed utilizando os descritores de assunto "synthetic cannabinoids", "spice", "legal highs", "herbal blends", "psychosis cannabis" e suas combinações. RESULTADOS: Foram encontrados canabinoides sintéticos nos produtos Spice, confirmando que os incensos herbais realmente surgiram como drogas de abuso emergentes. CONCLUSÃO: Não está claro se a utilização de canabinoides sintéticos e de Spice é uma moda passageira ou se irá se estabelecer em nossa sociedade. No entanto, o fenômeno das designer drugs, especialmente canabinoides sintéticos, representa um desafio presente para o sistemas de saúde no mundo globalizado, tornando-se necessária a pesquisa clínica e forense desses produtos.
BACKGROUND: Cannabis sativa (cannabis, marijuana) is a drug of abuse with well known psychoactive effects and therapeutic potential. A large number of cannabinoids chemically similar to Δ9-THC, the main active metabolite of marijuana, were synthesized in an attempt to exclude or minimize the psychotropic effects, maintaining the therapeutic potential. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to review of the use of synthetic cannabinoids as emerging drugs of abuse, especially in the form of spice or herbal blends. METHODS: A bibliographic search was performed in PubMed employing the terms "synthetic cannabinoids", "spice", "legal highs", "herbal blends", "psychosis cannabis" and cross references. RESULTS: A number of synthetic cannabinoids can be found in Spice products, confirming that herbal incense emerged as new drugs of abuse. DISCUSSION: It is unclear whether the use of synthetic cannabinoids and Spice is a fad or will be established as common practice in our society. However, the phenomenon of designer drugs, especially synthetic cannabinoids, will remain a challenge to health authorities in the globalized world, requiring additional clinical and forensic research.