ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

The abuse of methamphetamine (MA) is one of the most serious drug abuses in Asia. And, the prevention of precursor production for abuse drug is one of the most effective drug control system. Isotope ratio analysis at natural abundance levels have been used to establish the environmental source or the geographic origin of various biological and nonbiological materials. Ephedrine, the precursor of MA, is produced by one of three methods; extraction from Ephedra plants, full chemical synthesis or via a semi-synthetic process involving the fermentation of sugar, followed by amination. We investigated the origin of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine based on the carbon and nitrogen values for nineteen pharmaceutical powder materials (PPMs) obtained from pharmaceutical company in Korea by stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry coupled to an elemental analyser (EA-IRMS). The carbon delta values for the ephedrine and pseudoephedrine were -24.21~ -22.72 (mean=-23.72) ‰ and -23.79~-22.71 (mean=-23.48) ‰. The nitrogen delta values were 3.51~5.55 (4.43) ‰ and 2.24~8.22 (5.42) ‰. These results indicate that PPMs are semi-synthetic products. Therefore the origins of ephedrine (natural, semi-synthetic or synthetic) could be discriminated by using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios. we are sure that this stable isotope ratio analysis can discriminate the origins of precursors of methamphetamine.

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