MONITORING PRECURSOR CHEMICALS OF METHAMPHETAMINE THROUGH ENANTIOMER PROFILINGLaura Fairburn and

Mike Rusak

OVERVIEW

• What are Methamphetamines?• Methods of Synthesis

• Precursor Compounds

• Different Stereoisomers

• Enantiomer Profiling• How it is done• How they source the drugs using it

• Methamphetamines in the Legal System

WHAT ARE METHAMPHETAMINES?

• A class of compounds with a phenylethylamine core and a methyl group on the alpha carbon• Contains a methyl

substituted off the amine

• Very similar structure to epinephrine

STEREOISOMERS OF METHAMPHETAMINE

• R-enantiomer• Decongestant in nasal inhalers• Precursor for manufacturing l-deprenyl

• S-enantiomer• 5 times more active than R• Predominantly used as a stimulant

• Although the S-enantiomer is far more popular, the appearance of the R-enantiomer continuing to grow within mixtures

SOURCES OF EACH ENANTIOMER

• S(+)-methamphetamine• 1R,2S(-)-ephedrine, 1S-2S(+)-

pseudophedrine have same C-2 configuration, so can be used as precursors for

• R(-)-methamphetamine• 1R,2R(-)-methylpseudoephedrine,

1S,2R(+)-methylephedrine• Mixtures of both exhibit high purity with little

trace amounts of ephedrine compounds

PRECURSOR COMPOUNDS

Reductive Amination

“Nagai” Route using Red Phosphorus

WHAT IS ENANTIOMER PROFILING?

• Most routinely used in Methamphetamine due to chiral nature

• Determination of the ratio of the chiral isomers in order to understand the precursors used

• With use of statistics, it can help understand smuggling patterns internationally

TECHNIQUE USED FOR ENANTIOMER PROFILING

• For this study, 433 different samples were tested and compared to two standards of R and S methamphetamine-d5.

• GS-MS was used• Sample Preparation

• A variety of standard solutions of both enantiomers were used

• Calculation of LOD and R(-)-enantiomer ratio

ENANTIOMER RATIOS OF METHAMPHETAMINE

USE OF ENANTIOMER PROFILING TO SOURCE MANUFACTURERS

• As R-(-) sources weren’t as strictly regulate, the appearance of them in methamphetamines dramatically increased as year past

• This also could mean changes in smuggling routes and external sources

METHAMPHETAMINES IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM

• Arrests have increasing substantially over the 10 years

• More strict regulations temporarily resulted in a drop in manufacturers

• Large-scale producers weren’t affected, while small-scale producers were hit hard

LEGAL REGULATIONS OF METHAMPHETAMINES

• It is an Illegal Substance in Canada and the United States

• Regulations can be altered to relate to current methods of synthesis and smuggling routes

• Both which can be determined through the technique of enantiomer profiling

CONCLUSION

• Enantiomer Profiling is well suited for rapid and simultaneous determination of enantiomers of amphetamine, phenol alkylamines and hydroxyamines

• It is the standard for testing a very predominant, increasingly popular drug