Application of solid-phase microextraction to the profiting of an illicit drug: Manufacturing impurities in illicit 4-methoxyamphetamine

This article describes the application of solid-phase microextraction (SPME ) to the recovery of manufacturing by-products and impurities from an illic it drug seizure. The preparation chosen for examination using this techniqu e contained 4-methoxyamphetamine, an hallucinogenic amphetamine that has be en encountered frequently in South Australia. Compounds found in the PMA preparation included 4-methoxyphenol, 4-methoxyb enzaldehyde, 4-methoxyphenyl-2-propanone, 4-methoxyphenyl-2-propanol, 4-met hoxyphenylpropene, and (tentatively) 4-methyl-5-(4'-methoxyphenyl) pyrimidi ne. The presence of these compounds suggests that the active drug was prepa red from 4-methoxybenzaldehyde via 4-methoxyphenyl-2-propanone using a Leuc kardt reductive amination. In this instance, SPME was found to be a simple, rapid, and nondestructive recovery technique that gave results complementary to those provided by con ventional liquid-liquid extraction. There is an indication that SPME might find application in profiling of illicit drugs.