Problems of Forensic Sciences 2018 Vol. 116 (CXVI) 375-384
STABILITY OF JWH-200 AND 5F-AB-PINACA SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS IN BLOOD AND URINE
Piotr ADAMOWICZ1, Aleksandra MALCZYK2
1Institute of Forensic Research, Kraków, Poland
2Jagiellonian University, Faculty of Chemistry
Streszczenie
Synthetic cannabinoids (SC) are the largest group of new psychoactive substances. Their popularity and prevalence causes that they are often detected in biological material, however, their determination is a great challenge for toxicologists, and one of the problems that can be faced during the analysis is the instability of the concentrations of the analysed substances. The aim of the study was to determine the stability of two of them: JWH-200 and 5F-AB-PINACA in whole blood and urine samples stored under different temperature conditions for a period of six months.
Blood and urine enriched with JWH-200 and 5F-AB-PINACA were tested. The material was stored at room temperature (24°C), refrigerated (5°C) and frozen (-26°C) for six months. The extraction was performed initially daily, and then at 1–4 week intervals. The analyses were carried out by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The calculated SC content over time allowed estimation of the half-life and total degradation time of the tested compounds.
The stability of the analysed compounds was strongly dependent on the matrix. Both compounds disappeared more slowly in the urine, while this process was faster in the blood. The content of both compounds in blood stored in different conditions ranged from 30 to 53% of the initial value after storage for six months, and in the urine these values ranged from 52 to 77%. In the case of 5F-AB-PINACA, regardless of the matrix, the rate of this process depended on the storage temperature; the lower the temperature, the greater the stability of this compound. No significant differences were observed in the degradation rate of JWH-200 at different storage temperatures.
The results of research indicate that long-term storage of blood containing SC may lead to a gradual decrease in the content of analytes, thus determining a lower concentration than that which was present at the time of sampling. This shows that regardless of the storage temperature, the analyses for SC should be carried out as soon as possible after sampling.
Słowa kluczowe
Stability; Synthetic cannabinoids; Biological material; LC-MS/MS.