Chiral gas chromatography as a tool for investigations into illicitly manufactured methylamphetamine

Calum Morrison*, Frank J. Smith, Tomasz Tomaszewski, Karolina Stawiarska, Marek Biziuk

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop a chiral gas chromatographic method for the separation of compounds likely to be found in the EMDE synthesis of methylamphetamine, a heavily abused stimulant drug. Here we describe the separation of the enantiomers of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, chlorinated intermediates and methylamphetamine using fluorinated acid anhydrides as chemical derivatization reagents prior to gas chromatographic analysis on a 2,3-di-O-methyl-6-t-butyl silyl-β-cyclodextrin stationary phase (CHIRALDEX™ B-DM). Separation of the enantiomers of pseudoephedrine, methylamphetamine and chloro-intermediates was achieved using PFPA derivatization, and enantiomers of ephedrine using TFAA derivatization, in run times of less than 40 minutes. The use of HFBA as a derivatization reagent for this set of analytes is also discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)519-522
Number of pages4
JournalChirality
Volume23
Issue number7
Early online date19 Apr 2011
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Methylamphetamine
  • EMDE synthesis
  • chiral GC
  • cyclodextrin

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Catalysis
  • Pharmacology
  • Drug Discovery
  • Spectroscopy
  • Organic Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Chiral gas chromatography as a tool for investigations into illicitly manufactured methylamphetamine'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this