Screening of “spice” herbal mixtures: From high-field to low-field proton NMR

Forensic Science International Volume 279, October 2017, Pages 88-95 Forensic Science International Author links open overlay panelGaëtanAssemataFlorianDubocqaStéphaneBalayssacaCatherineLamoureuxbMyriamMalet-MartinoaVéroniqueGilarda a Groupe de RMN Biomédicale, Laboratoire SPCMIB (UMR CNRS 5068), Université Paul Sabatier, Université de Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex, France b SCL—Laboratoire d’Île-de-France, 1 rue Gabriel Vicaire, 75141 Paris Cedex 03, France Received 15 February 2017, Revised 26 July 2017, Accepted 7 August 2017, Available online 12 August 2017. crossmark-logo https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.08.006 Get rights and content Highlights • Both high- and low-field NMR were used for the screening of 41 spice herbal mixtures. • Low-field NMR allows the detection of synthetic cannabinoids in herbal blends. • Quantification of synthetic cannabinoids were performed using high-field 1H NMR. Abstract Forty one samples of herbal spices intended to be introduced into the European market and seized by the French customs were analysed with high-field 1H NMR. Nine synthetic cannabinoids (MAM-2201, JWH-073, JWH-210, JWH-122, JWH-081, JWH-250, UR-144, XLR-11 and AKB-48-5F) were detected and quantified. The ability of a compact benchtop low-field NMR spectrometer for a rapid screening of the content of herbal blends was then successfully explored for the first time. Even if low-field 1H NMR spectra are much less resolved than high-field spectra, we demonstrate that they provide valuable clues on the chemical structures of synthetic cannabinoids with the detection of some typical signals. Graphical abstract