Rapid analysis of ecstasy and related phenethylamines in seized tablets byRaman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy with far-red excitation has been used to study seized, t ableted samples of MDMA (N-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine) and relate d compounds (MDA, MDEA, MBDB, 2C-B and amphetamine sulfate), as well as pur e standards of these drugs. We have found that by using far-red (785 nm) ex citation the level of fluorescence background even in untreated seized samp les is sufficiently low that there is little difficulty in obtaining good q uality data with moderate 2 min data accumulation times. The spectra can be used to distinguish between even chemically-similar substances, such as th e geometrical isomers MDEA and MBDB, and between different polymorphic/hydr ated forms of the same drug. Moreover, these differences can be found even in directly recorded spectra of seized samples which have been bulked with other materials, giving a rapid and non-destructive method for drug identif ication. The spectra can be processed to give unambiguous identification of both drug and excipients (even when more than one compound has been used a s the bulking agent) and the relative intensities of drug and excipient ban ds can be used for quantitative or at least semi-quantitative analysis. Fin ally, the simple nature of the measurements lends itself to automatic sampl e handling so that sample throughputs of 20 samples per hour can be achieve d with no real difficulty.