Investigating the effect of substitution location on fentanyl analog identification for methyl-substituted fentanyl analogs using GC-EI-MS

IF 2.6 3区医学 Q2 CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL Forensic Chemistry Pub Date : 2023-09-17 DOI:10.1016/j.forc.2023.100534

Alexis Pollard, J. Tyler Davidson

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Abstract

Fentanyl and fentanyl analogs are key figures at the center of the ongoing opioid epidemic in the United States. Currently, gas chromatography-electron ionization-mass spectrometry (GC-EI-MS) instrumentation is one of the main analytical tools used for the identification of fentanyl analogs in forensic laboratories. However, the resulting retention times and EI mass spectra for many fentanyl analogs are quite similar given that there are only subtle differences in their structures. This research investigates the effect of substitution location on fentanyl analog identification using GC-EI-MS and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Simple Similarity Search (SSS) and Hybrid Similarity Search (HSS) algorithms through the analysis of a series of 11 methyl-substituted fentanyl analogs.

The 95% confidence interval retention times for each isomer were never more than ±0.009 min and a statistically significant (p < 0.001) difference was observed for all pairwise comparisons. Careful examination of the EI mass spectra revealed several general trends about the influence of substitution location on the observed EI mass spectra. The combination of unique fragmentation patterns, formed through shifts in m/z values due to the location of substitution, and the retention time enabled the identification of the 11 methyl-substituted fentanyl analogs analyzed in this study. The SSS was able to correctly identify all methyl-substituted fentanyl analogs within the top five hits for compounds that were present in the library. In comparison, the HSS was used to identify compounds absent from the mass spectral libraries and provided drastically different results depending on the location of substitution.

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用gc - e - ms研究取代位置对芬太尼类似物甲基取代芬太尼类似物鉴定的影响

芬太尼和芬太尼类似物是美国持续的阿片类药物流行中心的关键人物。目前，气相色谱-电子电离-质谱(GC-EI-MS)仪器是法医实验室鉴定芬太尼类似物的主要分析工具之一。然而，许多芬太尼类似物的保留时间和EI质谱非常相似，因为它们的结构只有细微的差异。本研究通过分析一系列11种甲基取代芬太尼类似物，利用GC-EI-MS和美国国家标准与技术研究院(NIST)简单相似搜索(SSS)和混合相似搜索(HSS)算法，研究取代位置对芬太尼类似物鉴定的影响。每个异构体的95%置信区间保留时间从未超过±0.009分钟，具有统计学意义(p <0.001)，所有两两比较均有差异。对EI质谱的仔细研究揭示了取代位置对所观察到的EI质谱影响的几个一般趋势。由于取代位置引起的m/z值变化而形成的独特碎片模式与保留时间的结合，使本研究分析的11种甲基取代芬太尼类似物得以识别。SSS能够正确识别库中存在的前五种化合物中的所有甲基取代芬太尼类似物。相比之下，HSS被用于识别不在质谱库中的化合物，并且根据取代的位置提供了截然不同的结果。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Forensic Chemistry CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL-

CiteScore

5.70

自引率

14.80%

发文量

审稿时长

46 days

期刊介绍： Forensic Chemistry publishes high quality manuscripts focusing on the theory, research and application of any chemical science to forensic analysis. The scope of the journal includes fundamental advancements that result in a better understanding of the evidentiary significance derived from the physical and chemical analysis of materials. The scope of Forensic Chemistry will also include the application and or development of any molecular and atomic spectrochemical technique, electrochemical techniques, sensors, surface characterization techniques, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, chemometrics and statistics, and separation sciences (e.g. chromatography) that provide insight into the forensic analysis of materials. Evidential topics of interest to the journal include, but are not limited to, fingerprint analysis, drug analysis, ignitable liquid residue analysis, explosives detection and analysis, the characterization and comparison of trace evidence (glass, fibers, paints and polymers, tapes, soils and other materials), ink and paper analysis, gunshot residue analysis, synthetic pathways for drugs, toxicology and the analysis and chemistry associated with the components of fingermarks. The journal is particularly interested in receiving manuscripts that report advances in the forensic interpretation of chemical evidence. Technology Readiness Level: When submitting an article to Forensic Chemistry, all authors will be asked to self-assign a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) to their article. The purpose of the TRL system is to help readers understand the level of maturity of an idea or method, to help track the evolution of readiness of a given technique or method, and to help filter published articles by the expected ease of implementation in an operation setting within a crime lab.