Cathinone, an alkaloid found in the shrub <i>Catha edulis </i>(khat), causes the release of dopamine and is chemically similar to amphetamines and ephedrine. It is a Schedule I drug due to its ability to cause severe psychological or physical dependence. Many derivatives of cathinone have been synthesized to produce so called “bath salts” and LSD-type recreational drugs, such as NBOMes. These drugs appear frequently in forensic casework and it is critical that the stability of these substances is understood so that the best storage conditions may be used but also so that the results of unstable drugs can be interpreted. This research focuses on the stability of the cathinone derivative mephedrone in biological and non-biological matrices. Samples of matrix (human blood and urine, methanol, acetonitrile, carbonated soda and water) were spiked at 1 mg/L of drug and stored in the dark at room temperature, 4 °C (fridge) or -20 °C (freezer). Samples from each batch were extracted on day 0, 3, 7, 14 and 30 to determine how stable the drugs were in each matrix under each storage condition. The analyses were carried out by GC/MS. Results of this research have shown that mephedrone is more stable in acetonitrile than in methanol at all three storage temperatures, and more stable in human urine samples than in blood. The human urine samples have similar stability at 4 °C and -20 °C, and human whole blood samples show an increase in stability with decreasing storage temperature. Results from spiking water and Coca Cola have shown that mephedrone is more stable in the water samples and is more stable overall at -20 °C.

Stabilities of mephedrone in biological and non-biological matrices

249th National Meeting (2015)

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