Identification and structural characterization of three psychoactive substances, phenylpiperazines (pBPP and 3,4-CFPP) and a cocaine analogue (troparil), in collected samples

Abstract

Purpose: New psychoactive substances (NPSs) still appear on the market, mainly due to their legal status. This situation indicates and alarms that permanent recognition of the designer drug scene should be conducted. In this paper, we describe the detection of three psychoactive substances in samples collected from drug users. Methods: Qualitative characterization was performed using liquid chromatography–high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry with a quadrupole time-of-flight analyzer, gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Results: In this study, we reported the detection and structural elucidation of three psychoactive substances: 1-(4-bromophenyl)piperazine (pBPP), 1-(3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)piperazine (3,4-CFPP) and methyl 8-methyl-3-phenyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-4-carboxylate (troparil). Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that presents an identification methodology for these substances found in illegal products. Comprehensive characterization of the NPSs presented in this paper facilitates their detection and identification by forensic and clinical laboratories.