NMR Spectroscopy in the Analysis of Illegal Drugs

Abstract

The detection of illegal drugs in various samples has been among the most fascinating objects for the practicing analytical chemist involved in forensic analysis. For centuries (until the end of the nineteenth century), drugs were almost entirely of natural origin, mostly herbal, and in some cases slightly chemically modified (e.g., through acetylation of morphine to heroin). By the development of synthetic organic chemistry (commencing at the beginning of the twentieth century), quite a few synthetic drugs designed to mimic the pharmacological effects of drugs originating from natural sources have been designed (e.g., cannabimimetic indazole derivatives or amphetamines, etc.). Detection of such synthetic drugs, named “designer drugs,” due to a large number of new substances continuously emerging on the market, is crucial. The efficacy of this analysis has become a tremendous challenge in the analytical forensic field. A development of fast identification and structural characterization is greatly facilitated by the advent of modern spectroscopic techniques, namely nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and modern mass spectrometry (MS) as well as separation techniques, such as gas and liquid chromatography (GC and LC). Nowadays, rapid strategies for chemical characterizations of illicit drugs are available.