RESUMEN
A new potent serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonist was identified in blotter papers by several state level forensic laboratories in Brazil. The 25I-NBOH is a labile molecule, which fragments into 2C-I when analyzed by routine seized material screening gas chromatography (GC) methods. GC-mass spectrometry (MS), liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-MS, and Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses were performed to complete molecular characterization. Individual doses range from 300 to 1000 µg. Despite its being a potent 5-HT2A receptor agonist, 25I-NBOH is neither registered in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) nor classified as a scheduled substance in most countries. Sweden and Brazil seem to be the only countries to control 25I-NBOH. To our knowledge, this is the first scientific report dealing with identification of 25I-NBOH in actual seizures.
RESUMEN
The NBOMe derivatives are phenethylamines derived from the 2C class of hallucinogens. Only a few human pharmacologic studies have been conducted on these drugs, and several cases of intoxication and deaths have been reported. Presently, NBOMe are not a part of the routine drugs-of-abuse screening procedure for many police forces, and there are no rapid immunoassay screening tests that can detect the presence of those compounds. In this Article, the voltammetric behavior of 25B NBOMe and 25I NBOMe were investigated and their electroanalytical characteristics determined for the first time. A novel, fast, and sensitive screening method for the identification of the two most common NBOMes (25B-NBOMe and 25I-NBOMe) in real samples is reported. The method uses the electrochemical oxidation of these molecules to produce an analytical signal that can be related to the NBOMe concentration with an average lower limit of quantitation of 0.01 mg/mL for both of them. The method is selective enough to identify the two compounds individually, even given the great similarity in their structure.
