Unregulated new psychoactive substances (NPS) in “pure” or “preparation” forms are designed to mimic the effects of controlled substances, and are introduced and reintroduced in the market as a cheap substitute of established regulated drugs in quick succession to loophole the law enforcement efforts on combating drugs. For example, carfentanil, a synthetic opioid activates the opioid receptors similar to morphine but it is astoundingly potent compared to a typical drug of abuse (100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more powerful than morphine). Based on the cost- and time-intensive forensic analysis, National Drug Early Warning System reported the a total of 2023 identifications of NPS including 1783 opioids/analgesics, 81 synthetic cannabinoids, 55 cathinone identifications in the mid-year 2019 in the USA. The UPLC-MS/MS based analytical technique was developed capable of determining trace level NPS in wastewater. The cost-effective, comprehensive, and near-real-time approach, wastewater-based epidemiology, was used for the first time in the U.S. to determine the prevalence of 43 NPS in four U.S. communities. Methcathinone, 5-IT, MAB-CHMINACA, 4-methylamphetamine, 1-(3-chlorophenyl) piperazine (mCPP), 4-methyl pentedrone, 2-methyl-4’(methylthio)-2-morpholinopropiophenone, alpha-ethylaminohexanophenone, carfentanil,<br/>methoxyacetyl fentanyl, and valerylfentanyl were the most abundant NPS. The prescription opioids and methamphetamine were more prevalent in communities with per-capita-income whereas the cocaine was found more prevalent in a university town.

Near real-time determination of the prevalence of illicit drugs, cannabinoids, cathinones, and synthetic opioids in four rural counties in Illinois using wastewater-based epidemiology

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.