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Biotransformation and detectability of the designer drug 2,5-dimethoxy-4-propylphenethylamine (2C-P) studied in urine by GC-MS, LC-MS(n), and LC-high-resolution-MS(n).

Carina S. D. Wink, Markus R Meyer, Tina Braun, Alain Turcant, Hans H Maurer

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 2015 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-014-8083-2 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Experimental study Peer reviewed
Intervention 2C-P
Dose a common user's dose
Keywords Drug metabolism Metabolic fingerprints Metabolic pathways Drug detection Detectability Reliably detectable Standard screening methods Urine Forensic toxicology Clinical investigations Forensic investigations Novel designer drugs Hallucinogenic drug 2c-p
Citations 13
Key findings 2C-P and its metabolites are reliably detectable in urine via standard GC-MS and LC-MS(n) screening methods after a common user's dose.

Abstract

2,5-Dimethoxy-4-propylphenethylamine (2C-P) is a hallucinogenic designer drug of the phenethylamine class, the so-called 2Cs, named according to the ethyl spacer between the nitrogen and the aromatic ring. The aims of the present work were to identify the phases I and II metabolites of 2C-P. In addition, the detectability of 2C-P and its metabolites in urine as proof of an intake in clinical or forensic cases was tested. According to the identified metabolites, the following pathways were proposed: N-acetylation; deamination followed by reduction to the corresponding alcohol and oxidation to carbonic acid; mono- and bis-hydroxylation at different positions; mono- and bis-O-demethylation, followed by glucuronidation, sulfation, or both; and combination of these steps. Proof of an intake of a common user's dose of 2C-P was possible by both standard urine screening approaches, the GC-MS as well as the LC-MS(n) approach.