Trial analysis of drug profiling by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to establish the origin of ephedrines used as precursors for illicit production of methamphetamine.

Rationale: We investigated whether chemical information on the origin of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (ephedrines) can be acquired by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) as a substitute method for stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), which is not routinely available in forensic laboratories. We examined the characteristic inorganic elemental contaminants of ephedrines as a preliminary study.

Methods: The stable isotope ratios measured by IRMS analysis are expressed relative to the stable isotope ratios of conventional standards.

17α-estradiol is generated locally in the male rat brain and can regulate GAD65 expression and anxiety.

Increasing evidence suggests that 17β-estradiol, a sex hormone, is synthesized by neurons. In addition, 17α-estradiol, the stereoisomer of 17β-estradiol, is reported to be the dominant form in the male mouse brain. However, probably because the method to detect these isomers requires unusual and precise experimental design, the presence of this endogenous 17α-estradiol has not been reported subsequently and the actual role is therefore not well elucidated.

Simple HPLC method for detection of trace ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in high-purity methamphetamine.

A simple and sensitive HPLC technique was developed for the qualitative determination of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (ephedrines), used as precursors of clandestine d-methamphetamine hydrochloride of high purity. Good separation of ephedrines from bulk d-methamphetamine was achieved, without any extraction or derivatization procedure on a CAPCELLPACK C18 MGII (250 × 4.6 mm) column.

Use of stable isotope ratios for profiling of industrial ephedrine samples: application of hydrogen isotope ratios in combination with carbon and nitrogen.

The utility of hydrogen stable isotope ratio measurement by IR-MS for establishing the origin of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (ephedrines), precursors of methamphetamine, was evaluated. There are two kinds of commercial semisynthetic ephedrines, one produced from molasses and the other from pyruvic acid. While the semisynthetic ephedrines derived from pyruvic acid cannot be discriminated from biosynthetic ephedrines and synthetic ephedrines based on delta(13)C and delta(15)N values, they could be identified from the delta(2)H values.

Evaluation of characteristic deuterium distributions of ephedrines and methamphetamines by NMR spectroscopy for drug profiling.

We have established a method for quantitative analysis of the deuterium contents (D/H) at the phenyl, methine, benzyl, N-methyl and methyl groups of l-ephedrine/HCl, d-pseudoephedrine/HCl and methamphetamine/HCl by 2H NMR spectroscopy. Comparison of the 5 position-specific D/H values of l-ephedrine/HCl and d-pseudoephedrine/HCl prepared by three methods (chemical synthesis, semichemical synthesis, and biosynthesis) showed that chemically synthesized ephedrines and semisynthetic ephedrines have highly specific distributions of deuterium at the methine position and at the benzyl position, compared with the other positions. The classification of several methamphetamine samples seized in Japan in terms of the D/H values at these two positions clearly showed that the methamphetamine samples had been synthesized from ephedrines extracted from Ephedra plants or semisynthetic ephedrines but not from synthetic ephedrine.

Phylogenetic relationship of psychoactive fungi based on rRNA gene for a large subunit and their identification using the TaqMan assay (II).

"Magic mushroom (MM)" is the name most commonly given to psychoactive fungi containing the hallucinogenic components: psilocin (1) and psilocybin (2). We investigated the rRNA gene (internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU)) of two Panaeolus species and four Psilocybe species fungi (of these, two are non-psilocybin species). On the basis of sequence alignment, we improved the identification system developed in our previous study.

A rapid and reliable solid-phase extraction method for high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of opium alkaloids from papaver plants.

A rapid and reliable solid-phase extraction method for HPLC analysis of opium alkaloids from Papaver plants was established. Fifty mg of dried and powdered plant sample was extracted with 5 ml of 5% acetic acid for 30 min under sonication. After centrifugation, 3 ml of the supernatant was loaded on a reversed-phase cation-exchange solid-phase extraction cartridge.

Effective injection in pulsed splitless mode for impurity profiling of methamphetamine crystal by GC or GC/MS.

Gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) are commonly used for the impurity profiling of illegal drugs. For the impurity profiling of methamphetamine, it is very important to obtain information about impurities related to the manufacturing route and the precursor chemicals [B. Remberg, A.

[DNA and chemical analyses of commercial fly agaric-related products].

Since June 6, 2002, psilocin and psilocybin-containing fungi (commonly called "magic mushrooms") have been regulated by the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Law in Japan. However, various fly agaric-related products are now entering the Japanese market via the internet. In this study, fly agaric-related products available in this way were investigated for raw materials by DNA analysis and for additives by chemical analysis.

Growth characteristics of Cannabis sativa L. cultivated in a phytotron and in the field.

Growth characteristics of Cannabis saliva L. are indispensable factors to verify the statements by the criminals of illegal cannabis cultivation. To investigate growth characteristics of C.

Application of revised version of neural independent component analysis to classification problems of confiscated methamphetamine.

Recently, profiling the chemical substances in illegally distributed drugs has been needed in order to reveal the drug channels. However, this kind of profiling is often difficult because such drugs contain various kinds of impurities and the quantity of these impurities changes. Due to these circumstances, several methods, including a slightly revised ICA (Independent Component Analysis) by a Hebbian learning artificial neural network, were applied for profiling illegally distributed methamphetamine.

Determination of origin of ephedrine used as precursor for illicit methamphetamine by carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratio analysis.

The sale of ephedrine, one of the precursors of methamphetamine, is strictly controlled and monitored in various countries to prevent the production of illicit methamphetamine. There are three kinds of production scheme for ephedrine manufacture, and it is very useful for precursor control to investigate the origin of ephedrine used for the synthesis of illicit methamphetamine. By means of stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IR-MS), we investigated the origin of ephedrine based on the delta(13)C and delta(15)N values.

Phylogenetic relationship of psychoactive fungi based on the rRNA gene for a large subunit and their identification using the TaqMan assay.

"Magic mushrooms" (MMs) are psychoactive fungi containing the and Psychotropics Control Law in Japan. Because there are many kinds of MMs and they are often sold even as dry powders in local markets, it is very difficult to identify the original species of the MMs by morphological observation. Therefore, we investigated the rRNA gene for a large subunit (LSU) of several MMs to classify them by a genetic approach.

[Discrimination of psychoactive fungi (commonly called "magic mushrooms") based on the DNA sequence of the internal transcribed spacer region].

'Magic mushrooms' (MMs) are psychoactive fungi containing the hallucinogenic compounds, psilocin (1) and psilocybin (2). Since June 6, 2002, these fungi have been regulated by the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Law in Japan. Because there are many kinds of MMs and they are sold even as dry powders in local markets, it is very difficult to identify the original species of the MMs by morphological observation.

Evaluation of rewarding effect of toluene by the conditioned place preference procedure in mice.

Toluene and many toluene-containing products are abused via inhalation. Previous investigations have used the place preference paradigm to evaluate the rewarding effects of commonly abused drugs such as morphine, cocaine, and amphetamine. A conditioning paradigm of toluene inhalation was developed in order to estimate the rewarding effect in mice.

Impurity profiling of ephedrines in methamphetamine by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Separation of the enantiomers and diastereomers of ephedrines was investigated for impurity profiling of methamphetamine. We describe a method for the analysis of (1S,2R)-(+)-ephedrine, (1R,2S)-(-)-ephedrine, (1S,2S)-(+)-pseudoephedrine and racemic methylephedrine in bulk methamphetamine by HPLC using two different columns: a phenyl-beta-cyclodextrin-type column and an ODS-type column. The analytes were detected by UV absorbance measurement at 210 nm.

DNA fingerprinting of Cannabis sativa using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) amplification.

Chemical analysis of cannabinoid, and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) fingerprinting of DNA were used to identify different samples of Cannabis sativa L. for forensic purposes. Three samples were classified into two types, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) chemo-types, by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).