Analysis of a New Potent Hallucinogen, 25-B-NBOMe, in Blotters by High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography

Blotters—small paper squares—have long been used to deliver the hallucinogen LSD, but recently seized blotters in Chile and elsewhere increasingly contain NBOMe derivatives, a group of newly synthesized phenylethylamine analogues. These compounds, primarily 25I-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, and 25B-NBOMe, show high affinity for the 5HT2A receptor, which international reports suggest may exceed that of LSD. Numerous deaths and hospitalizations linked to these synthetic compounds have been reported in the United States and Europe, highlighting a serious public health concern.

Study at a glance

Abstract

All over the world, hallucinogens have long been abused to experience their effects; in this context, abuse of drugs is a serious public health issue. Because the consumption of blotters impregnated with drug is very frequent, hallucinogens are the most common drugs found in blotters [1]. Since decades, blotters have been generally impregnated with the potent hallucinogen known as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). This substance is considered as a low toxic hallucinogen; however, for a couple of years, numerous blotters have been seized in Chile and other countries with N-(2-methoxy)benzyl-substituted phenylethylamine hallucinogens, designated as NBOMe derivatives [2]. The structural analogues of substituted phenylethylamine are a group of newly synthesized chemical compounds and, according to scientific studies, demonstrate a high affinity for 5HT2A receptor; international reports indicate that it even could be higher than the LSD [3]. These new drugs are represented essentially by three compounds known as 25 I NBOMe, 25 C NBOMe, and 25 B NBOMe if they contain iodine, chlorine, or bromine in their structure (Figure 1 shows these chemical structures) [4]. Numerous reports of deaths and hospitalizations related to the consumption of these new synthetic compounds impregnated in blotters have occurred in the United States and Europe [5, 6]. In this situation and in order to determine the con-