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Simultaneous analysis of synthetic cannabinoids in the materials seized during drug trafficking using GC-MS

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Abstract

A rapid and simple gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was developed and validated to identify and quantify synthetic cannabinoids in the materials seized during drug trafficking. Accuracy and reproducibility of the method were improved by using deuterated JWH-018 and JWH-073 as internal standards. Validation results of the GC-MS method showed that it was suitable for simultaneous qualitative and quantitative analyses of synthetic cannabinoids, and we analyzed synthetic cannabinoids in seized materials using the validated GC-MS method. As a result of the analysis, ten species of synthetic cannabinoids were identified in dried leaves (n = 40), bulk powders (n = 6), and tablets (n = 14) seized in Korea during 2009–2012, as a single ingredient or as a mixture with other active co-ingredients. JWH-018 and JWH-073 were the most frequently identified compounds in the seized materials. Synthetic cannabinoids in the dried leaves showed broad concentration ranges, which may cause unexpected toxicity to abusers. The bulk powders were considered as raw materials used to prepare legal highs, and they contained single ingredient of JWH-073, JWH-019, or JWH-250 with the purity over 70 %. In contrast, JWH-018 and JWH-073 contents in the tablets were 7.1–13.8 and 3.0–10.2 mg/g, respectively. Relatively low contents in the tablets suggest that the synthetic cannabinoids may have been added to the tablets as supplements to other active co-ingredients.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by funding from the National R&D program of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2012-0009836) and the National Forensic Service of Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Forensic Service–Narcotics Analysis Division, Seoul, 158-707, Republic of Korea

    Hyeyoung Choi, Sewoong Heo, Sanggil Choe, Wonkyung Yang, Yuran Park, Eunmi Kim, Heesun Chung & Jaesin Lee

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  1. Hyeyoung Choi
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  2. Sewoong Heo
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  3. Sanggil Choe
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  4. Wonkyung Yang
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  5. Yuran Park
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  6. Eunmi Kim
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  7. Heesun Chung
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  8. Jaesin Lee
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Correspondence to Jaesin Lee.

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Published in the special paper collection Forensic Toxicology with guest editors Kazuhito Watanabe and Satoshi Chinaka.

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Choi, H., Heo, S., Choe, S. et al. Simultaneous analysis of synthetic cannabinoids in the materials seized during drug trafficking using GC-MS. Anal Bioanal Chem 405, 3937–3944 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-6560-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-6560-z

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