Analysis of new psychoactive substances by atmospheric solids analysis probe tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

The growth in the demand for novel non-regulated substances, called new psychoactive substances (NPS), is a concern among governments and society. These substances try to mimic effects of the traditional illicit drugs such as cocaine, cannabis or heroin, for example. They can be easily found through the Internet or physical stores, sold as “legal highs” or “research chemicals”. People consume legal highs recreationally, even though they do not know exactly their composition , which can cause a serious health problem. Despite the different types of NPS, synthetic cathinones and synthetic cannabinoids are the most popular based on seizures and number of identified compounds. In this project, a novel methodology for NPS identification has been developed, using tandem mass spectrometry equipped with atmospheric solids analysis probe, working in the data-dependent acquisition mode. In the first step, a library containing fragmentation spectra of 90 compounds was built. Then, in order to prove the applicability of the methodology, blind samples were analysed, including powder, crystal and herbal blend samples. Compound fragmentation spectra was obtained and searched for in the homemade spectral library, using for identification the MS Search option (within MassLynx software). In addition, this method was applied for NPS detection in different surfaces, such as the fingers of a person who had touched these products, using the same strategy described above. The applicability and sensitivity of the methodology for this purpose was tested. NPS were correctly identified with this workflow based on the acquired fragmentation spectra. The ASAP has proven to be a rapid technique for the suspect screening of NPS, as no sample preparation or chromatographic separation are needed.