Department research section: Drug identification and analysis
What are New Psychoactive Substances (NPS)?The term ‘new psychoactive substances’ (NPS) can be defined as substances of abuse, either in a pure form or in a preparation, that are not controlled by the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs or the 1971 United Nations Single Convention on Psychotropic Substances, but which may post a public health threat comparable to that posed by substances listed in these conventions.In general terms,NPS, most commonly marketed as ‘legal highs’, ‘designer drugs’, and ‘research chemicals’, are forms of recreational drugs, which have been increasing in popularity at an unprecedented rate over the last decade. NPS can produce psychopharmacological effects similar or greater than those of illicit drugs, such as amphetamines, cocaine, heroin and cannabis. These substances are cleverly designed and marketed to avoid contravening existing national and international drug legislation. NPS are available from several sources, including the internet, specialised shops (in some countries), known as ‘head shops’, and on the illicit drug market. Unlike pharmaceuticals, which undergo extensive analytical and clinical testing in controlled studies, NPS are developed with non-existent quality control and clinical drug safety testing in place. These substances arrive onto the recreational drug market with little information available on their chemical or pharmacological properties. The absence of chemical information creates challenges for scientists who are posed with the unequivocal identification of NPS in forensic drug seizures or clinical samples. In addition, the unknown pharmacological properties of NPS, routes of administration and unknown potency can result in adverse effects in users.
What we do?The NPS phenomenon has created challenges for scientists who are tasked with the unambiguous identification of NPS in drug seizures or clinical samples. In recent times, the identification and characterisation of newly emerging psychoactive drugs has become a continuous part of forensic drug chemistry. The investigations concerning NPS can be greatly affected by the absence of chemical reference standards for both parent drugs and their metabolites. In addition, further difficulties associated with the unique identification of NPS arise when positional isomers and stereoisomers exist, or when mixtures of NPS or difficult matrices are presented. From the medical viewpoint, knowledge of the pharmacological activity of NPS is vital for emergency medical professionals treating patients with drug intoxications.
The primary aim of this research is to provide chemical profiles of new psychoactive substances, through the development of syntheses protocols for reference materials, including positional isomers, followed by extensive analytical characterisation. Techniques used in the analytical characterisation include several chromatographic, spectroscopic, mass spectrometric platforms and x-ray crystal structure analysis. A secondary aim is to provide pharmacological information on these NPS. Pharmacological profiles of NPS are achieved through collaboration with the Designer Drug Research Unit (DDRU), Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, USA. The pharmacological profile of a selected NPS and its isomers are ascertained using monoamine transporter assays. This assay provides information on the reuptake and releasing properties of a selected drug at the dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin transporters using in vitro transporter assays in rat brain synaptosomes. This technique can determine if the drugs under investigation are strong/weak transporter blockers or transporter substrates, thus providing information pertaining to the molecular mechanism of action of the drugs.
Overall, this research on NPS utilises a multidisciplinary approach to ascertain the chemical and pharmacological profiles of NPS following their detection on the recreational drug market. This strategy utilises the expertise of a collaborative multidisciplinary team of scientists and combines organic and analytical chemistry with pharmacological-based studies. The research ethos follows an in-house protocol developed to provide information on NPS in a timely manner:
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