Fast profiling of cocaine seizures by FTIR spectroscopy and GC-MS analysis of minor alkaloids and residual solvents.

In this study, samples coming from large seizures of cocaine which took place in Italian Customs areas during 2011 and 2012 were examined. Minor alkaloids and residual solvents, analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and head space (HS)-GC-MS, respectively, were processed by principal component analysis (PCA), highlighting groupings of samples according to their chemical similarity. A hypothesis about the geographical origin of samples was also provided: most of them were compatible with Colombia as country of origin. Results of these analyses were used as starting point for the development of a "fast profiling" method, based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and chemometric tools. Two models were developed and compared: KBr-FTIR and attenuated total reflection (ATR)-FTIR for comparative analysis of pure samples. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was applied to the model based on ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, obtaining a classification and a prediction ability both of 97.56% for pure samples. Finally, "cut" samples were tested as an external test set, and the assignment class provided by LDA was compared with results obtained by the analyses of alkaloids and residual solvents: in the case of samples added with only one substance, prediction errors began to occur for percentages of cocaine lower than 50%.

Identification of two cannabimimetic compounds WIN48098 and AM679 in illegal products.

Two synthetic cannabinoids have been identified, during a survey, as new adulterants; they might have been intended to be used as ingredients for smart drugs. The characterization of these compounds has been made by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), leading to the identification of WIN48098, a compound disclosed as a new adulterant in herbal and powder products, and AM679, identified in Italy for the first time. Taking into account the high number of synthetic cannabinoids seized during the last year in Italy, how quickly they appear on the illegal market and the rapidity required for analytical results, a method was developed for the simultaneous quantitation of several synthetic cannabinoids, using gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID).