Influence of cosmetic hair treatments on hair of methamphetamine abuser: Bleaching, perming and coloring.

Various cosmetic hair manipulations are known to interfere with the drug of abuse concentrations in hair. It is important to know the effects of cosmetic hair treatments as they may cause false-positive or false-negative results. The article aimed to investigate the effect of bleaching, perming, and dyeing treatment on the hair of methamphetamine（MA）abusers. The research results show that during the bleaching treatment, the content of MA in the hair is positively correlated with the degree of the treatment. Bleaching caused strong chemical degradation on MA, while perming exerted more a leaching out effect. Temporary dyes in single applications had only little effects on MA, Semi-permanent dyes can penetrate into the hair and exert a stronger matrix effect. The effect of permanent hair dye on the content of MA in hair mainly depends on the concentration of hydrogen peroxide.

Rapid Identification of MDMB-CHMINACA Metabolites Using Zebrafish and Human Liver Microsomes as the Biotransformation System by LC-QE-HF-MS.

MDMB-CHMINACA is a newly synthetic cannabinoid, which scoped in NMS Lab, USA. Since there are currently no published data on MDMB-CHMINACA metabolism, we aimed to identify its biotransformation pathways and major metabolites. Liquid chromatography Q-exactive HF hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry (LC-QE-HF-MS) using full scan positive ion mode and targeted MS-MS (ddms2) techniques with accurate mass measurement were employed to analyze the metabolic sites and pathways. An in vivo metabolic animal model of zebrafish was established to verify the metabolic pathways of MDMB-CHMINACA obtained from human liver microsomal experiment in vitro. The results showed that 29 metabolites were generated in the zebrafish animal model and human liver microsomes model. Biotransformations mainly occurred at the cyclohexylmethyl tail of the compound, minor reactions also occurred at the tert-butyl chain and no reaction was analyzed at the indazole ring. We recommend M1 group (MDMB-CHMINACA ester hydroxylation) and M2 group (MDMB-CHMINACA monohydroxylation) as the potential poisoning markers to document MDMB-CHMINACA intake in clinical and forensic cases. Additionally, this study provides preliminary information regarding the metabolism of MDMB-CHMINACA that will guide analytical standard manufacturers to better provide suitable references for further studies on newly encountered designer drugs.

Analysis of AMB-FUBINACA Biotransformation Pathways in Human Liver Microsome and Zebrafish Systems by Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

In this study, the metabolic profiles of a new illicit drug AMB-FUBINACA were investigated using both human liver microsome and zebrafish models. Liquid chromatography Q Extractive HF Hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (LC-QE-HF-MS) was employed to analyze the metabolic sites and pathways. AMB-FUBINACA was added to the in vitro liver microsome incubation model to simulate the metabolic processes in human body. The results showed that a total of 17 metabolites were generated in the human liver microsome model; the main metabolic pathways of the phase I metabolism included ester hydrolysis, methylation, ester hydrolysis combined with decarboxylation, hydroxylation, ester hydrolysis combined with indazole ring hydroxylation, etc. while glucuronidation served as the main metabolic pathway of the phase II metabolism. The zebrafish system produced a similar result with 16 of the same 17 metabolites identified. The phase I metabolites M3.1 (ester hydrolysis), M1.2 (alkyl chain hydrolysis) and the phase II metabolite M3.2 (M3.1 glucuronide) were recommended to be the potential poisoning markers.

[Application of IR in the Field of Evidence Identification].

In the process of evidence identification, detecting chemical composition of evidence with instrumental analysis techniques will help get more information relevant to the case quickly and accurately, while the commonly used techniques are chromatography, mass spectrometry and spectroscopy techniques. Forensic science laboratory relates to the identification of evidence from a wide range of complex situations, we need to decide what kind of analytical methods according to the type of physical evidence and instrument characteristics. For example, with the advantages of high resolution, high sensitivity, and strong ability to analysis; gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is often used to detect evidence of fire scene such as flammable liquids. The more common scenarios of the application in forensic science laboratory is related to the case of various organic certificate (ink, paint, plastic, etc.) and inorganic (mineral, inorganic fillers, etc.) for quick and efficient analysis. Infrared spectroscopy is one of the most effective conventional analysis methods to identify and determine the molecular structure of the compound, whihc is especially widely used in the field of forensic science evidence identification. The infrared spectroscopy technique can be used to determine the type of evidence, which also serves as an effective means of test; the test results can offer evidence to the court to settle a lawsuit. This paper reviewed the application status and latest research advances of infrared spectroscopy technique in forensic document examination, oil test, plastic test, paint inspection, fiber inspection, common areas of drugs and other evidence examination, and prospected infrared spectroscopy technology in the field of evidence identification, from a practical point of view to provide infrared spectroscopy research profile for the scientific research personnel.

[Rapid analysis of added ingredients in heroin].

The method of rapid analysis of added ingredients in heroin was studied in the present paper. Adding sucrose, fructose, glucose, starch, caffeine and phenacetin to heroin with a certain percentage, the changes in the infrared spectrum with the concentration of heroin increasing and the detection limit of the additives were determined. Whether or not heroin can be detected in the sample with high concentration of added ingredients was studied using Raman spectroscopy. Similarly, in high purity of heroin, whether or not Raman spectroscopy can detect the added ingredients was tested. Through systematic experiments, the results showed that: using infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy to test the added ingredients of heroin is a rapid and effective method. Each has both advantages and disadvantages. We should select the appropriate method according to the actual cases.

Self-Assembled 3D Flower-Like Hierarchical beta-Ni(OH)(2) Hollow Architectures and their In Situ Thermal Conversion to NiO.

Three-dimensional (3D) flower-like hierarchical beta-Ni(OH)(2) hollow architectures were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal route. The as-obtained products were well characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM (HRTEM), SAED, and DSC-TGA. It was shown that the 3D flower-like hierarchical beta-Ni(OH)(2) hollow architectures with a diameter of several micrometers are assembled from nanosheets with a thickness of 10-20 nm and a width of 0.5-2.5 mum. A rational mechanism of formation was proposed on the basis of a range of contrasting experiments. 3D flower-like hierarchical NiO hollow architectures with porous structure were obtained after thermal decomposition at appropriate temperatures. UV-Vis spectra reveal that the band gap of the as-synthesized NiO samples was about 3.57 eV, exhibiting obviously red shift compared with the bulk counterpart.

Theoretical investigation of optical and electronic property modulations of pi-conjugated polymers based on the electron-rich 3,6-dimethoxy-fluorene unit.

Poly(fluorene)-type materials are widely used in polymer-based emitting devices. One of the drawbacks of light-emitting diodes based on polyfluorene derivatives is the injection of holes from the anode due to the high ionization potential (IP) of most derivatives. Substitution by electron-donating alkoxy substituents or by adding charge carriers on the conjugated polymer's backbone produces a remarkable influence on its electrical and optical properties. In this contribution, we apply quantum-chemical techniques to investigate a family of pi-conjugated polymers with substituted dimethoxy groups at the 3,6 positions of the fluorene ring, namely, poly(2,7-(3,6-dimethoxy-fluorene)(PDMOF), poly(2,7-(3,6-dimethoxy-fluorene)-co-alt-fluorene (PDMOFF), and poly(2,7-(3,6-dimeth-oxy-fluorene)-co-alt-2,5-thiophene (PDMOFT). The electronic properties of the neutral molecules, HOMO-LUMO gaps (Delta(H)(-)(L)), in addition to the positive and negative ions, are studied using the B3LYP functional. The lowest excitation energies (E(g)) and the maximal absorption wavelength lambda(abs) of PDMOF, PDMOFF, and PDMOFT are studied by employing time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and the ZINDO semiempirical method. The IP, EA, and E(g) values of each polymer were obtained by extrapolating those of the oligomers to the inverse chain length equal to zero ((1)/(n)() = 0). The influence of the presence of methoxy groups on the fluorene moiety on the ionization potential is especially emphasized. The outcomes show that the HOMO energies of these systems under study increase by about 0.4 eV and the IP values decrease by about 0.3 eV compared to those of the corresponding polyfluorene. Both effects result in a reduction of the energy barrier for the injection of holes in related polymeric light-emitting devices and should contribute to the enhancement of their performances. Because of the cooperation with thiophene in PDMOFT, which results in a good planar conformation, both the hole-creating and electron-accepting abilities are improved.