Drug Testing and Analysis
March 15, 2026
Simon K. Wellenberg, Lea Wagmann, Matthias D. Kroesen et al.
ABSTRACT 3,4‐Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) remains unapproved for therapeutic use despite the promising results of MDMA‐assisted psychotherapy. There is a need to better understand the safety, pharmacokinetics, and toxicology of possible MDMA‐based prodrugs. Like lisdexamfetamine, amino acid prodrugs of MDMA may enable more controlled systemic exposure, but their metabolic activation...
Drug Testing and Analysis
February 18, 2026
Rie Tanaka, Maiko Kawamura, Michiho Ito et al.
Recently, many lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) analogs have emerged as designer drugs worldwide. In Japan, these compounds are distributed as paper sheet or tablet products and are available online. Even after these compounds were regulated, new compounds with modified structures continued to appear. In the present study, two LSD analogs were identified from tablet or paper sheet products. Gas...
Drug Testing and Analysis
February 17, 2026
Yuki Azuma, Akiko Asada, Misa Tanaka et al.
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) analogs represent an emerging class of new psychoactive substances (NPS). These compounds are often rapidly metabolized, making direct detection of the parent compound in biological samples difficult. Therefore, metabolite detection serves as a critical and effective strategy for the confirmation of consumption. However, the metabolic pathways of these analogs...
Drug Testing and Analysis
August 1, 2025
Fabian Frankenfeld, Lea Wagmann, Markus R Meyer
2 citations
Wastewater (WW)-based epidemiology (WBE) is a powerful tool for screening and surveillance of drugs (of abuse) or new psychoactive substances (NPSs) in larger population. Since the drug market changes frequently, it is crucial for WBE to define screening and surveillance biomarkers considering drug metabolism and (microbial) stability. The aims of the presented work were first to identify...
Drug Testing and Analysis
July 22, 2025
N Meert, K Segers, F Van Durme et al.
MDMA, commonly known as "ecstasy," is widely used in clubs and at festivals, earning its reputation as a "party drug." The increasing demand for rapid on-site dose estimation of MDMA in tablets arises from the need of various stakeholders, including law enforcement, emergency services, and public health officials, to respond appropriately to potential public safety risks and incidents. This...
Drug Testing and Analysis
June 1, 2025
N Meert, J Eliaerts, F Van Durme et al.
8 citations
Despite the fact that drugs of abuse are illegal, a drug-free festival still remains an utopia in most settings. For law enforcement purposes, it is necessary to rapidly determine whether controlled substances are involved. On-site testing is a challenging task because drugs appear in different physical forms and concentrations. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of two...
Drug Testing and Analysis
May 21, 2025
Donata Favretto, Antonello Cirnelli, Roberto Pertile et al.
2 citations
A child died in the emergency room of a local hospital a few hours after ingesting a substance the color of cork and the consistency of earth. At home, a modest amount of resinous substance was found. At the hospital, the child exhibited alterations in walking, balance, and consciousness. Intubation was needed for the onset of dyspnea, so fentanyl and ketamine were administered during the...
Drug Testing and Analysis
April 1, 2025
Yuki Okada, Hiroki Segawa, Tadashi Yamamuro et al.
6 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) analogs have emerged as new psychoactive substances (NPS) since the mid-2010s, and new compounds continue to emerge for recreational use. Since the end of 2023, "1D-AL-LAD" appeared on X (formerly Twitter) and other websites. As for the compound "1D-LSD" (which also has "1D" in the name), several studies show that the ingredient of seized blotter paper printed...
Drug Testing and Analysis
April 1, 2025
Simon D. Brandt, Pierce V. Kavanagh, Sarah Gare et al.
4 citations
The development of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) derivatives and analogs continues to inform the design of novel receptor probes and potentially new medicines. On the other hand, a number of newly developed LSD derivatives have also emerged as recreational drugs, leading to reports of their detection in some countries. One position in the ergoline scaffold of LSD that is frequently targeted...
Drug Testing and Analysis
February 4, 2025
Rafael D Soares, Danielle K John, Marcos P Thomé et al.
1 citation
Ecstasy is a complex and hazardous substance, and its identification is increasingly challenging. Conventional analytical methods have limitations in terms of sensitivity and selectivity, and more precise techniques are time-consuming and necessitate sample preparation. ASAP-MS and DD-SIMCA are two methods that have the potential to address these issues. This research delves into the efficacy...
Drug Testing and Analysis
2025
Pierce V. Kavanagh, Folker Westphal, Benedikt Pulver et al.
8 citations
1-Acetyl-N,N-diethyllysergamide (1A-LSD, ALD-52) was first synthesized in the 1950s and found to produce psychedelic effects similar to those of LSD. Evidence suggests that ALD-52 serves as a prodrug in vivo and hydrolysis to LSD is likely responsible for its activity. Extension of the N1-alkylcarbonyl chain gives rise to novel lysergamides, which spurred further investigations into their...
Drug Testing and Analysis
December 3, 2024
Simon D. Brandt, Pierce V. Kavanagh, Sarah Gare et al.
5 citations
The classical psychedelic drug (+)-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) continues to attract considerable multidisciplinary interest, and over the last eight decades, many derivatives and analogs of LSD have been synthesized. One site on the ergoline scaffold of LSD that has been frequently modified is the N1-position, with the N1-acylated LSD derivative 1-acetyl-LSD (1A-LSD, ALD-52) being one of...
Drug Testing and Analysis
December 1, 2024
Keeper Trout, Paul F. Daley
5 citations
The story of the 1967 appearance of the powerful psychedelic 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM, STP) commonly omits details and often includes hyperbole and inaccuracies. It is well known how and when the drug was first distributed to the public for free by Owsley Stanley, but the role that Alexander Shulgin played in providing that material is not as well understood. In the interest of...
Drug Testing and Analysis
October 1, 2024
Jess L Algar, Douglas J Lawes, Adam J Carroll et al.
14 citations
Drug checking is a harm reduction measure that provides people with the opportunity to confirm the identity and purity of substances before consumption. The CanTEST Health and Drug Checking Service is Australia's first fixed-site drug checking service, where clients can learn about the contents of the samples they provide while receiving tailored harm reduction and health advice. Three samples...
Drug Testing and Analysis
September 1, 2024
Verena Angerer, Yasmin Schmid, Florian Franz et al.
6 citations
The acute psychoactive, autonomic, and endocrine effects of the new psychoactive substance (NPS) 5,6-methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane (MDAI; 3.0 mg/kg, range 180-228 mg) were investigated in six healthy volunteers (four males, two females) in a non-blinded fashion without placebo. Subjective, cardiovascular, and endocrine responses were compared with two different doses of...
Drug Testing and Analysis
September 1, 2024
Eric Deconinck, Marie A Polet, Michaël Canfyn et al.
More and more countries and organisations emphasise the value of harm reduction measures in the context of illicit drug use and abuse. One of these measures is drug checking, a preventive action that can represent a quick win by tailored consultation on the risks of substance use upon analytical screening of a submitted sample. Unlike drop-in centres that operate within a fixed setting,...
Drug Testing and Analysis
August 1, 2024
Cui-Mei Liu, Zhen-Dong Hua, Wei Jia et al.
7 citations
This study initially reported the selection and characterization of 17 unknown impurities attributed to the manufacture process of ketamine. A total of 150 seized ketamine samples were investigated through ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight (UHPLC-Q-TOF). Seventeen characteristic impurities were selected in accordance with four criteria: The compound was...
Drug Testing and Analysis
June 1, 2024
Pirkko Kriikku, Aino Kankaanpää, Teemu Gunnar et al.
3 citations
Among several established indicators that are used to monitor the illicit drug scene, drug-related deaths and wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) stand out for population-level coverage. In this study, we aimed to compare temporal trends with respect to amphetamine, methamphetamine and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) revealed by these indicators and explore the differences in fatal...
Drug Testing and Analysis
June 1, 2024
Takuji Shoda, Genichiro Tsuji, Maiko Kawamura et al.
1 citation
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a hallucinogenic compound that binds to and activates the serotonin 2A receptor and is classified as a controlled narcotic in Japan. Recently, MiPLA, an N-methyl-N-isopropyl derivative of LSD, has been detected in paper-sheet products in several countries. This study focuses on the synthesis of MiPLA and includes a comprehensive analysis involving structural...
Drug Testing and Analysis
May 1, 2024
Rie Tanaka, Maiko Kawamura, Sakumi Mizutani et al.
11 citations
Recently, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) analogs have appeared worldwide as designer drugs. In this study, we identified a distributed LSD analog from a paper-sheet product. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography-photodiode array-mass spectrometry (LC-PDA-MS), and liquid chromatography with hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) were used...
Drug Testing and Analysis
March 9, 2024
Marianne Skov-Skov Bergh, Inger Lise Bogen, Katharina Elisabeth Grafinger et al.
2 citations
N-Ethyl-N-propyltryptamine (EPT), 4-hydroxy-N-ethyl-N-propyltryptamine (4-OH-EPT), and 5-methoxy-N-ethyl-N-propyltryptamine (5-MeO-EPT) are new psychoactive substances classified as tryptamines, sold online. Many tryptamines metabolize rapidly, and identifying the appropriate metabolites to reveal intake is essential. While the metabolism of 4-OH-EPT and 5-MeO-EPT are not previously described,...
Drug Testing and Analysis
February 1, 2024
Simon D. Brandt, Pierce V. Kavanagh, Folker Westphal et al.
5 citations
Preclinical investigations have shown that N-ethyl-N-isopropyllysergamide (EIPLA) exhibits lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)-like properties, which suggests that it might show psychoactive effects in humans. EIPLA is also an isomer of N6 -ethylnorlysergic acid N,N-diethylamide (ETH-LAD), a lysergamide known to produce psychedelic effects in humans that emerged as a research chemical. EIPLA was...
Drug Testing and Analysis
May 1, 2023
Marta Massano, Enrico Gerace, Martina Borsari et al.
6 citations
Methoxpropamine (MXPr) is an arylcyclohexylamine dissociative drug structurally similar to 3-methoxyeticyclidine, ketamine, and deschloroketamine, recently appeared in the European illegal market, and was classified within the new psychoactive substances (NPS). Our study investigated the metabolism of MXPr to elucidate the distribution of the parent drug and its metabolites in body fluids and...
Drug Testing and Analysis
May 1, 2023
Linhao Xu, Xinze Liu, Zixuan Song et al.
3-Methoxyeticyclidine (3-MeO-PCE), a phencyclidine-type substance, has a higher N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) receptor binding affinity than phencyclidine (PCP) and an involvement in fatal intoxication cases. The aim of this study was to identify new biomarkers and biotransformation pathways for 3-MeO-PCE. In vitro models were established using zebrafish and human liver microsomes for...
Drug Testing and Analysis
March 1, 2023
Pierce V. Kavanagh, Folker Westphal, Benedikt Pulver et al.
7 citations
The development of novel lysergamides continues to occur, based on both the needs of psychedelic medicine and commercial interest in new recreational substances. The present study continues the authors' research on novel lysergamides and describes the analytical profile of 1-cyclopropanoyl-AL-LAD (IUPAC name:...