Description

Buy MPHP Online.The toxicological detection of the new synthetic cathinone 4′-methyl-α-pyrrolidinohexanophenone (MPHP) in urine samples has been impossible, because much of MPHP is metabolized before its excretion into urine. In this study, we successfully quantified unmetabolized MPHP in urine of an autopsy case using a sensitive method by liquid chromatography–time-of-flight-mass spectrometry. The quantification method showed good linearity in the range of 1.00–100 ng/mL, and the limit of detection was 0.5 ng/mL in human urine. In the autopsy case, the concentrations of MPHP in urine, plasma, and liver tissue samples were determined to be 60.1, 32.9 ng/mL, and 63.1 ng/g, respectively.
Keywords: 4′-Methyl-α-pyrrolidinohexanophenone, MPHP, Synthetic cathinone, Liquid chromatography–time-of-flight-mass spectrometry, LC–TOF-MS, Human urine

Introduction

The new designer drug 4′-methyl-α-pyrrolidinohexanophenone (MPHP) is a synthetic cathinone classified as an α-pyrrolidionophenone derivative. MPHP was first identified in seized products as a drug of abuse in Germany in 2000. In Japan, MPHP has been detected in many types of seized products including mixed dried plants called “herbs,” powder-type products called “bath salts,” and liquid-type products called “liquid aroma” because it was first identified in distributed illegal products in 2013.

MPHP is presumed to exhibit stimulant effects and serious toxicity like other synthetic cathinones and amphetamines. There is only one report on acute poisoning with toxic liver damage and rhabdomyolysis after Buy MPHP Online intake. In this poisoning case, MPHP was found at a concentration of 100 ng/mL in the patient’s serum by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), while it could not be detected in urine because of its metabolism, which is consistent with the findings in a study on MPHP metabolites in rat urine. MPHP could not be found in rat urine 24 h after administration with either 1 mg/kg, which corresponds to the common dose of abusers, or 20 mg/kg by GC–MS with a limit of detection of 100 ng/mL. Conversely, the main urinary MPHP metabolite 4′-carboxy-α-pyrrolidinohexanophenone (4′-carboxy-PHP) could be detected in both human and rat [8] urine after MPHP administration. Therefore, to date, the toxicological detection of MPHP in urine by GC–MS seems to be possible only via its metabolites, including 4′-carboxy-PHP, but these compounds are not commercially available [9]. Recently, Minakata et al. [10] reported that a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry enabled the sensitive quantification of MPHP with a range of 2–100 ng/mL, although the samples used consisted of blood from volunteers with MPHP added as a reference. In the present study, we are the first to identify and quantify Buy MPHP Online in human postmortem urine by using liquid chromatography–time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC–TOF-MS) in an autopsy case.

Case history

A 52-year-old man started to thrash about suddenly while sleeping and had a general convulsion. His wife and two children held down his arms and legs for approximately 20 min until his convulsion calmed down. At this point, his family assumed that the patient had fallen asleep again. They suspected abuse of designer drugs as a cause of his convulsion because he had been suspected of possession of illegal designer drugs and was questioned by the police 4 months earlier. The family then searched the living room for drugs and found eight packages consisting of one black package labeled “Zombie,” three clear packages “Bolt 1G,” “Aladdin pre 1G,” and “Spica 0.2” written on them, and four unlabeled clear packages. His wife returned to the bedroom and found him dead. An autopsy was performed at our department 1.5 days later. He had no notable medical history, but his daughter had seen him thrashing about approximately 1 month earlier.

Alcohol was not detected in either blood or urine samples by GC. Testing of urine samples by a Triage DOA kit (Sysmex, Kobe, Japan) showed negative results. Screening of a forensic toxicology library (MassLynx 4.1 TOF Toxicology Database 1; Waters, Milford, MA, USA) using a LC–TOF-MS system (ACQUITY UPLC-Xevo® G2-S QTof; Waters) detected nothing in the blood and urine samples.

Materials and methods

Buy MPHP Online and 4′-methoxy-α-pyrrolidinopropiophenone (MeOPPP) were purchased from Cayman Chemical Co. (Ann Arbor, MI, USA). Other common chemicals were of analytical grade and purchased from Wako Pure Chemical Industries Ltd. (Osaka, Japan).

Blank blood and urine samples were collected from healthy volunteers with no history of drug intake after informed consent was obtained. The blank samples were screened for common drugs of abuse, alcohol, and MPHP and all were confirmed to be negative.
Sampling and sample preparation