Identification and quantification of synthetic cannabinoids in “spice-like” herbalmixtures: update of the German situation for the spring of 2015

Forensic Toxicology

Volume 34, Issue 1, 1 January 2016, Pages 94-107

  (Article)

Langer, N.^a, 

Lindigkeit, R.^a, 

Schiebel, H.-M.^b, 

Papke, U.^b, 

Ernst, L.^c, 

Beuerle, T.^a 

 

^a  Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Mendelssohnstr. 1, Brunswick, Germany
^b  Chemistry Department, Central Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Hagenring 30, Brunswick, Germany
^c  Chemistry Department, Central NMR Laboratory, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Hagenring 30, Brunswick, Germany 

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Abstract

In February 2015, 13 “spice-like” products, available on the German market, were analyzed. In total, eight different synthetic cannabinoids were identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), namely 5-fluoro-AB-PINACA, AB-CHMINACA, AB-FUBINACA, 5-fluoro-PB-22, 5-fluoro-AMB, MDMB-CHMICA, EAM-2201 and STS-135. In most of the products (11/13), only one synthetic cannabinoid was identified, while two products contained two or three synthetic cannabinoids. For some of the compounds (5-fluoro-AB-PINACA, AB-CHMINACA, 5-fluoro-AMB) only insufficient physicochemical data are available in literature. To our knowledge MDMB-CHMICA (sometimes mistakenly referred to as MBMD-CHMINACA) was not described earlier in scientific literature, and, hence, an in-depth characterization of these compounds by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, electron ionization–mass spectroscopy, electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS/MS), infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet spectroscopy was conducted for eight compounds. In addition, we developed an ESI-MS method for the direct quantification of synthetic cannabinoids in commercial smoking blends, without chromatographic separation. Quantification was achieved using methyl 3-(3-(1-naphthoyl)-1H-indol-1-yl)propionate as the internal standard with appropriate response factors. The total contents of synthetic cannabinoids in the investigated products ranged from 60 to 446 mg/g, while individual compounds ranged from 12 to 314 mg/g. © 2015, Japanese Association of Forensic Toxicology and Springer Japan.

Author keywords

5-Fluoro-AB-PINACA; AB-CHMINACA; AB-FUBINACA; German situation; MDMB-CHMICA; Synthetic cannabinoids

Indexed keywords

EMTREE drug terms: cannabinoid derivative; herbaceous agent

EMTREE medical terms: Article; chemical analysis; Germany; infrared spectroscopy; mass fragmentography; nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; physical chemistry; priority journal; spring; structure analysis; tandem mass spectrometry; ultraviolet spectroscopy

ISSN: 18608965Source Type: Journal Original language: English

DOI: 10.1007/s11419-015-0292-7Document Type: Article

Publisher: Springer-Verlag Tokyo

References (34)

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  Beuerle, T.; Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Mendelssohnstr. 1, Germany; email:t.beuerle@tu-bs.de
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