MONITORING PRECURSOR CHEMICALS OF METHAMPHETAMINE THROUGH ENANTIOMER PROFILINGLaura Fairburn and
Mike Rusak
OVERVIEW
• What are Methamphetamines?• Methods of Synthesis
• Precursor Compounds
• Different Stereoisomers
• Enantiomer Profiling• How it is done• How they source the drugs using it
• Methamphetamines in the Legal System
WHAT ARE METHAMPHETAMINES?
• A class of compounds with a phenylethylamine core and a methyl group on the alpha carbon• Contains a methyl
substituted off the amine
• Very similar structure to epinephrine
STEREOISOMERS OF METHAMPHETAMINE
• R-enantiomer• Decongestant in nasal inhalers• Precursor for manufacturing l-deprenyl
• S-enantiomer• 5 times more active than R• Predominantly used as a stimulant
• Although the S-enantiomer is far more popular, the appearance of the R-enantiomer continuing to grow within mixtures
SOURCES OF EACH ENANTIOMER
• S(+)-methamphetamine• 1R,2S(-)-ephedrine, 1S-2S(+)-
pseudophedrine have same C-2 configuration, so can be used as precursors for
• R(-)-methamphetamine• 1R,2R(-)-methylpseudoephedrine,
1S,2R(+)-methylephedrine• Mixtures of both exhibit high purity with little
trace amounts of ephedrine compounds
WHAT IS ENANTIOMER PROFILING?
• Most routinely used in Methamphetamine due to chiral nature
• Determination of the ratio of the chiral isomers in order to understand the precursors used
• With use of statistics, it can help understand smuggling patterns internationally
TECHNIQUE USED FOR ENANTIOMER PROFILING
• For this study, 433 different samples were tested and compared to two standards of R and S methamphetamine-d5.
• GS-MS was used• Sample Preparation
• A variety of standard solutions of both enantiomers were used
• Calculation of LOD and R(-)-enantiomer ratio
USE OF ENANTIOMER PROFILING TO SOURCE MANUFACTURERS
• As R-(-) sources weren’t as strictly regulate, the appearance of them in methamphetamines dramatically increased as year past
• This also could mean changes in smuggling routes and external sources
METHAMPHETAMINES IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM
• Arrests have increasing substantially over the 10 years
• More strict regulations temporarily resulted in a drop in manufacturers
• Large-scale producers weren’t affected, while small-scale producers were hit hard
LEGAL REGULATIONS OF METHAMPHETAMINES
• It is an Illegal Substance in Canada and the United States
• Regulations can be altered to relate to current methods of synthesis and smuggling routes
• Both which can be determined through the technique of enantiomer profiling