Advances in new psychoactive substances identification: the U.R.I.To.N. Consortium |
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| Authors: | Elisabetta Bertol Francesco Mari Maria Grazia Di Milia Silvia Bua Claudiu T Supuran |
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| Institution: | 1. Forensic Toxicology Division, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy;2. Dipartimento Neurofarba, Sezione di Scienze Farmaceutiche e Nutraceutiche, Polo Scientifico, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy;3. Dipartimento di Chimica, Laboratorio di Chimica Bioinorganica, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Identification of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in biological and non-biological samples represents a hard challenge for forensic toxicologists. Their great chemical variety and the speed with which new NPS are synthesised and spread make stringent the need of advanced tools for their detection based on multidisciplinary approaches. For this reason, in August 2016, the “Unit of Research and Innovation in Forensic Toxicology and Neuroscience of Addiction” (U.R.I.To.N.) was founded by the Forensic Toxicology Division of the University of Florence. In this Research Unit, various professionals (i.e. forensic toxicologists, chemists, physicians) collaborate to study all the aspects of drugs of abuse, especially NPS. Herein, we describe the multidisciplinary approach comprising liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS), gas chromatography hyphenated to mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and solution nuclear magnetic resonance analysis that allowed the identification of three NPS such as 1-(benzofuran-5-yl)-N-methylpropan-2-amine, 2-amino-1-(4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethan-1-one (bk-2C-B), and 3-(2-aminopropyl)indole (α-methyltryptamine) in seized materials. |
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| Keywords: | New psychoactive substances drugs multi-analytical approach |
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