Issue 12, 2013
From the journal:

Analyst

Direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) of “bath salt” cathinonedrug mixtures

Ashton D. Lesiak,a   Rabi A. Musah,a   Robert B. Cody,b   Marek A. Domin,c   A. John Daneb  and  Jason R. E. Shepard*a  

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Chemistry, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY), 1400 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12222, USA
E-mail: jshepard@albany.edu

b JEOL USA, Inc., 11 Dearborn Rd, Peabody, MA 01960, USA

c Mass Spectrometry Center, Merkert Chemistry Center, Boston College, 2609 Beacon Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3808, USA

Abstract

Rapid and versatile direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) methods were developed for detection and characterization of synthetic cathinone designer drugs, also known as “bath salts”. The speed and efficiency associated with DART-MS testing of such highly unpredictable samples demonstrate the technique as an attractive alternative to conventional GC-MS and LC-MS methods. A series of isobaric and closely related synthetic cathinones, alone and in mixtures, were differentiated using high mass accuracy and in-source collision induced dissociation (CID). Crime laboratories have observed a dramatic rise in the use of these substances, which has caused sample testing backlogs, particularly since the myriad of structurally related compounds are challenging to efficiently differentiate. This challenge is compounded by the perpetual emergence of new structural variants as soon as older generation derivatives become scheduled. Because of the numerous chemical substances that fall into these categories, along with the varying composition and complexity of mixtures of these drugs, DART-MS CID has the potential to dramatically streamline sample analysis, minimize the number of sample preparation steps, and enable rapid characterization of emerging structural analogs.

Graphical abstract: Direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) of “bath salt” cathinone drug mixtures

About
Cited by
Related
Download options Please wait...

Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C3AN00360D
Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Feb 2013
Accepted
15 Apr 2013
First published
15 Apr 2013

Analyst, 2013,138, 3424-3432

Permissions

Request permissions

Direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) of “bath salt” cathinone drug mixtures

A. D. Lesiak, R. A. Musah, R. B. Cody, M. A. Domin, A. J. Dane and J. R. E. Shepard, Analyst, 2013, 138, 3424 DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00360D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements