• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.1-8
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• 2023

Eutylone, dibutylone, and dimethylone are potential psychotropic designer drugs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the in vitro metabolic pathways of synthetic cathinones with methylenedioxy groups. The three methylenedioxy derivatives were incubated with human liver microsomes. The metabolites were characterized based on liquid chromatography and quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Eutylone, dibutylone, and dimethylone were metabolized to yield three, six, and four metabolites, respectively. Reduction and demethylenation were the major metabolic pathways for all three drugs tested. However, dibutylone and dimethylone showed an additional metabolite generated via N-oxidation. These results provide evidence for the in vivo metabolism of methylenedioxy synthetic cathinones, and could be applied to the analysis of synthetic cathinones and their relevant metabolites in biological samples.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.122-129
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• 2017

A diversity of synthetic cathinones has flooded the recreational drug marketplace worldwide. This variety is often a response to legal control actions for one specific compound (e.g. methcathinone) which has resulted in the emergence of closely related replacement. Based on recent trends, the nitrogen atom is one of the sites in the cathinone molecule being explored by designer type modifications. In this study, we designed and synthesized two new synthetic cathinones, (1) ${\alpha}-piperidinopropiophenone$ (PIPP) and (2) ${\alpha}-piperidinopentiothiophenone$ (PIVT), which have piperidine ring substituent on their nitrogen atom. Thereafter, we evaluated whether these two compounds have an abuse potential through the conditioned place preference (CPP) in mice and self-administration (SA) in rats. We also investigated whether the substances can induce locomotor sensitization in mice following 7 days daily injection and challenge. qRT-PCR analyses were conducted to determine their effects on dopamine-related genes in the striatum. PIPP (10 and 30 mg/kg) induced CPP in mice, but not PIVT. However, both synthetic cathinones were not self-administered by the rats and did not induce locomotor sensitization in mice. qRT-PCR analyses showed that PIPP, but not PIVT, reduced dopamine transporter gene expression in the striatum. These data indicate that PIPP, but not PIVT, has rewarding effects, which may be attributed to its ability to affect dopamine transporter gene expression. Altogether, this study suggests that PIPP may have abuse potential. Careful monitoring of this type of cathinone and related drugs are advocated.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) are a group of ${\beta}$-phenethylamine derivatives that produce central nervous system stimulants effects. The representative ATS are methamphetamine and 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and abuse of ATS has become a global problem. Methamphetamine is abused in North America and Asia, while amphetamine and 3, 4-methyle nedioxym ethamphetamine (Ecstasy) are abused in Europe and Australia. Methamphetamine is also the most abused drug in Korea. In addition to the conventional ATS, new psychoactive substances (NPS) including phenethylamines and synthetic cathinones, which have similar effects and chemical structure to ATS, continue to spread to the global market since 2009, and more than 739 NPS have been identified. For the analysis of ATS, two tests that have different theoretical principles have to be conducted, and screening tests by immunoassay and confirmatory tests using GC/MS or LC/MS are the global standard methods. As most ATS have a chiral center, enantiomer separation is an important point in forensic analysis, and it can be conducted using chiral derivatization reagents or chiral columns. In order to respond to the growing drug crime, it is necessary to develop a fast and efficient analytical method.