A rapid UHPLC-MS/MS method can detect and confirm 33 different diphenidine derivatives in solid drug samples. The method separates compounds based on the position and type of chemical substituents on the phenyl ring, and it works even when common adulterants are present. The 10-minute protocol was successfully used to identify psychoactive components in four seized drug samples from law enforcement.
Five fluorinated diphenidine derivatives were synthesized and their structures determined using NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. All five compounds form hydrogen bonds between their quaternary amine hydrogen atoms and chloride ions. Two compounds show N-H⋯Cl distances of 2.21–2.31 Å, while three exhibit shorter distances of 2.07–2.20 Å. The compound with a pyrrolidine ring adopts an envelope conformation, and the one with a piperidine ring adopts a chair conformation. Crystal packing in all five structures involves C-H⋯π interactions, and no π-π interactions are observed.
A validated gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method provides both screening and quantification of 13 diphenidine derivatives in seized solid samples, whether pure or mixed with common adulterants. The work addresses the rising forensic and analytical challenges posed by new psychoactive substances (NPSs) by offering a rapid, robust testing methodology. Techniques include presumptive testing, thin layer chromatography, and GC-MS, with the latter offering first-time general screening and quantification for these compounds in casework.