RESUMO
New psychoactive substances (NPS) are an emerging public health issue and deaths are commonly associated with polydrug abuse. Moreover, the number of new substances available is constantly increasing, causing intoxications in low doses, characteristics that impose to toxicology and forensic laboratories to keep routine methods up to date, with high detectability and constantly acquiring new analytical standards. Likewise, NPS metabolites and respective elimination pathways are usually unknown, making it difficult the detection and confirmation of the drug involved in the fatal case in an analytical routine. A literature search was performed on PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases for papers related to chromatographic analyses from fatal cases related to NPS use published from 2016 to 2021. A total of 96 papers were retrieved and reviewed in this study. Opioids, synthetic cathinones, phenethylamines/amphetamines and cannabinoids were the NPS classes most found in the fatal cases. In many cases, multiple compounds were detected in the biological samples, including prescription and other illegal drugs. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, an alternative to overcome the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry limitations for some compounds, was the analytical technique most used in the studies, and high resolution mass spectrometry was often applied to NPS metabolite investigation and structural characterization and identification of unknown compounds. Toxicological screening and quantitation methods need to be continuously updated to include new substances that are emerging on the drug market that can be fatal at very low doses.
RESUMO
In this study, a reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) technique for determination of rutin in Erythroxylum suberosum extract was developed and validated. A regression analysis was performed, with the observation of good linearity (r = 0.9997). The values obtained for precision and accuracy determination are in agreement with ICH guidelines. The detection and the quantitation limits of rutin were 0.19 ug/mL and 0.60 ug/mL, respectively. The results demonstrated that the developed method is a reliable HPLC technique for determination of rutin in E. suberosum extract. In addition, the applicability of this method in stability studies and standardization of herbs was investigated.
En este estudio, la técnica de cromatografía líquida de alta resolución en fase reversa para la determinación de la rutina en el extracto Erythroxylum suberosum fue desarrollada y validada. Se realizó un análisis de regresión, con la observación de una buena linealidad (r = 0,9997). Los valores obtenidos para la precisión y la determinación de la precisión están de acuerdo con las directrices ICH. La detección y cuantificación de los límites de la rutina fueron 0,19 ug / mL y 0,60 ug / mL, respectivamente. Los resultados demostraron que el método desarrollado es una técnica fiable de HPLC para la determinación de la rutina en el extracto de E. suberosum. Además, se investigó la aplicabilidad de este método en los estudios de estabilidad y la estandarización de hierbas.
