Eutylone Intoxications-An Emerging Synthetic Stimulant in Forensic Investigations.

Synthetic stimulants are the largest class of novel psychoactive substances identified each year by forensic laboratories internationally. While hundreds of these drugs appear in drug powders, only a few proliferate in use among forensically relevant populations and eventually emerge in postmortem and clinical investigations. Beta-keto-methylenedioxyamphetamines (i.

Flualprazolam Blood Concentrations in 197 Forensic Investigation Cases.

Flualprazolam is a designer benzodiazepine and novel psychoactive substance that is increasing in prevalence and appearing in forensic investigations. Flualprazolam was quantitatively confirmed in 197 blood samples from medicolegal death investigations and human performance cases reported between August 2019 and February 2020. Drug screening was performed using liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and quantitative confirmation was performed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Quantification of Designer Opioids by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

Opioids including heroin and commonly prescribed drugs such as oxycodone and fentanyl are among the most commonly abused drugs. In recent years, the abuse of opioids has spread beyond these commonly encountered analytes and now includes novel psychoactive drugs such as AH-7921 and U47700 and a variety of fentanyl-related compounds such as acetyl fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl. The assay described is for the quantitative determination of 19 designer opioids in serum, plasma, and whole blood.

Rapid and sensitive screening and confirmation of thirty-four aminocarbonyl/carboxamide (NACA) and arylindole synthetic cannabinoid drugs in human whole blood.

We describe the development and validation of a method for the screening and confirmation of a range of chemically diverse synthetic cannabinoid drugs in human whole blood. The method targets the better known arylindole compounds as well as the emerging aminocarbonyl/ carboxamide (NACA) compounds. The approach consists of two separate extraction procedures designed to optimize recovery of each of these two classes, followed by analysis by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

LC-MS/MS method for the detection of common laxatives.

Laxatives refer to a group of diverse substances used to induce bowel movements. There exist various classes of laxatives, which work through different pharmacological means. Based on the potential medical cause of use, one particular class of laxative may be preferred over another.

Quantitation of amphetamine-type stimulants by LC-MS/MS.

Amphetamines or amphetamine-type stimulants (ATSs) refer to a group of pharmacological and -toxicological agents that have a common phenethylamine structural backbone and typically impart effects that include, but are not limited to, vasoconstriction, anorexia, central nervous system stimulation, and/or hallucinations. While differences in side chain chemistry can impart different pharmacological or toxicological effects, for some compounds, e.g.

Development and validation of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the identification and quantification of JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-019, and JWH-250 in human whole blood.

A sensitive and specific method for the quantification of JWH-018, JWH-073, and JWH-250 and the qualitative identification of JWH-019 in whole blood was developed and validated. Samples fortified with JWH-018-d₉ and JWH-073-d₉ underwent liquid-liquid extraction and were analyzed by liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. Two transitions were monitored for all analytes except JWH-250, for which there was only one available transition.

Inhibition of morphine-potentiated HIV-1 replication in peripheral blood mononuclear cells with the nuclease-resistant 2-5A agonist analog, 2-5A(N6B).

Opioids potentiate HIV-1 infection in vitro at least partly by suppressing immunoresponsive processes in human lymphocytes and monocytes. For example, it appears that morphine inhibits the interferon (IFN)-alpha, -beta, and -gamma-mediated natural antiviral defense pathways in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). In this study, we show that restoration of a key component of the antiviral pathway reverses morphine-potentiated HIV-1 infection of human PBMC.