Problems of Forensic Sciences 2015 Vol. 102 (CII) 138-148
A FATAL CASE OF 3,4-DIMETHYLMETHCATHINONE POISONING
Marzena SYKUTERA, Elżbieta BLOCH-BOGUSŁAWSKA
Chair and Department of Forensic Medicine, Collegium Medicum of Nicolaus Copernicus University, Bydgoszcz, Poland
Streszczenie
3,4-dimethylmethcathinone (3,4-DMMC) is a psychoactive, synthetic analog of the central nervous system stimulant cathinone. In recent years, 3,4-DMMC has been abused as an alternative to controlled cathinones. As with other synthetic cathinones, the recreational use of 3,4-DMMC can result in death. We present an autopsy case in which the cause of death was judged to be 3,4-DMMC poisoning. Other drugs or poisons that could have caused the death were not detected by our screening using gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry. The deceased was a 31-year-old man with a history of drug abuse. Alkaline liquid-liquid extraction and validated liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry were employed to quantify the drug in whole blood. 3,4-DMMC was found in blood at the concentration of 3.31µg/ml.
Słowa kluczowe
3,4-dimethylmethcathinone; Fatal poisoning; LC-ESI-MS; Biological material.