Detection of anabolic-androgenic steroids in e-cigarettes seized from prisons: A case study.

The administration of new psychoactive substances (NPS), in particular synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs), via e-cigarettes, within prison settings has been well publicized. This study provides an overview of five e-cigarette case samples seized from Scottish prisons between May 2022 and July 2023 where the anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) mestanolone and oxandrolone were identified following gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. These e-cigarette samples represented 2.9% of all samples containing e-cigarette cartridges (n = 170) and 9.4% of all samples found to contain AASs (n = 53) seized during the same time period. The AASs were detected in combination with other drugs, including cocaine, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), SCRAs and nicotine. This represents a new and novel route of administration for AASs.

A ground truth data set of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysed synthesised methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA).

Controlled drug samples are normally chemically analysed to determine their identity and in some cases, their purity. There are also circumstances where a more broad chemical characterisation of drug samples may also be required. This involves investigating the chemical impurities that may be present in a drug sample as a consequence of their synthesis. This impurity or drug profiling can be derived from drugs which are synthesised chemically or extracted from plant materials and then modified chemically. Impurity profiling can provide some insight into the synthetic methods used and sometimes the starting chemicals used. We report on the data generated from repetitive ( n = 18 ) synthesis of ecstasy (methylenedioxymethylamphetamine or MDMA) made by three different synthetic methods. Each data sample is expressed in multiple formats. This article uses the template for publishing GCMS data provided in Miller et al.(2022)[1]. The template provides a robust and systematic approach to organise GCMS data that is both useful for practitioners and amenable for automated data manipulation by data scientists.

Development of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and other rapid screening methods for the analysis of 16 'legal high' cathinone derivatives.

The prevalence of so-called 'legal high' drugs in forensic science drug casework has increased markedly in recent years. This has given rise to both legal and analytical challenges in the identification of these substances. The requirement for validated, reliable and rapid testing methodologies for these compounds is obvious. This work reports the analysis of sixteen synthesised cathinone derivatives encountered in casework using presumptive testing, thin layer chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).