Forensic Science International 217 (2012) 139–145

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Forensic Science International

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/forsciint

The characterisation of two halogenated cathinone analogues:

3,5-Difluoromethcathinone and 3,5-dichloromethcathinone
Sean Davis a,*, Karen Rands-Trevor a, Sue Boyd b, Methsiri Edirisinghe a
a
Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services (QHFSS), 39 Kessels Rd, Brisbane, Australia
b
School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history: Australia has seen an increase in the importation and use of drugs that are marketed and sold as ‘‘Legal
Received 28 July 2011 Highs’’. These compounds have largely tended to be various cathinone analogues, with 4-
Received in revised form 17 October 2011 methylmethcathinone the most prominent to date. In January 2009, unknown samples were submitted
Accepted 19 October 2011
for analysis along with a large seizure of 3-fluoromethcathinone as part of a police operation. The samples
Available online 15 November 2011
were analysed and determined to be 3,5-difluoromethcathinone and 3,5-dichloromethcathinone. These
compounds were synthesised and characterised. The GC–MS data of the samples and their N-acetyl
Keywords:
derivatives, NMR, vapour-phase and condensed-phase IR for these previously unreported compounds are
3,5-Difluoromethcathinone
presented. This analytical data will enable laboratories to confirm the presence of these compounds in
3,5-Dichloromethcathinone
3,5-Difluoro-isomethcathinone the absence of commercially available reference standards.
Designer drug ß 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Mass spectra
IR

1. Introduction ecstasy [5]. The legislation of mephedrone did not immediately

The designer drug market has recently seen an increase in the
number of drugs sold as ‘legal highs’. One prominent group of
compounds consist of analogues of cathinone, namely 4-methyl-
methcathinone (mephedrone) 1, 3-fluoromethcathinone 2, and 3,4-
methylenedioxy-methcathinone (methylone) 3. Compounds 1, 2
and 3 are based on the secondary amine methcathinone, which has
been found to be more potent than the naturally occurring primary
amine cathinone 4 [1]. These analogues are marketed and sold in a
variety of countries including Australia and the UK as ‘‘dietary
supplements’’, ‘‘herbal highs’’ and ‘‘party pills’’ in an apparent
attempt to thwart controlled drug legislation [2]. In Australia, this
has resulted in an increased prevalence of these compounds,
particularly in the use and availability of mephedrone [3].
The principle purpose for the manufacturers of these analogues
is to attempt to circumvent existing controlled substance
legislation. However, the primary driving force for the consumers
of ‘‘legal highs’’ such as mephedrone is its availability, with legality
a secondary motive [4]. The increasing popularity of mephedrone
can arguably be attributed to: (1) the convenience of on-line
purchasing; and (2) a reduction in the quality and availability of
ecstasy. This popularity amongst users has also been assisted by
mephedrone reportedly having similar psychoactive effects as
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 7 32749038.
E-mail address: sean_davis@health.qld.gov.au (S. Davis).
result in a significant decline in its availability as a ‘‘Legal High’’ in
the UK. After mephedrone became scheduled in the UK in April
2010, ‘legal highs’ purchased after this date were still found to
contain this compound and other controlled substances [6].
As these ‘legal highs’ become legislated and availability
decreases over time, new compounds are expected to be produced
by altering the chemical structure of existing drugs of abuse. It is
therefore not viable or practical to specifically legislate against all
variants when they appear. This means that without adequate
analogue and derivative clauses manufacturers and consumers
will continue to exploit legislative gaps to create ‘‘legal highs’’. This
will also result in an increased number of analogues of existing
illicit drugs, such as those based on the cathinone structure. This
can already be seen with the increasing number of structurally
related a-pyrrolidinophenones, which are seen in countries such
as Germany. This provides further evidence of the developing
nature of the designer drug market [7].
In January 2009, as part of a police operation, what was
determined to be compound 2 and two unknown samples were
submitted for analysis in Queensland, Australia. The unknown
samples were contained in clip sealed plastic bags which were
labelled ‘‘1-(3,5-di chlorophenyl)-2-(methylamino) propanone’’
and ‘‘1-(3,5-difluorophenyl)-2-(methylamino) propanone’’. These
powders were analysed and determined to contain 3,5-difluor-
omethcathinone 5, and 3,5-dichloromethcathinone 6 (Fig. 1).
While these two compounds are not specifically listed in controlled
drug legislation in Queensland, the provision of analogue and

0379-0738/$ – see front matter ß 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.10.042
140 S. Davis et al. / Forensic Science International 217 (2012) 139–145
Fig. 1. Analogues of cathinone: 4-methylmethcathinone 1 3-fluoromethcathinone 2 3,4-methylenedioxymethcathinone 3 cathinone 4 3,5-difluoromethcathinone 5 3,5-
dichloromethcathinone 6 and bupropion 7.
derivative clauses in the legislation would classify these com-
pounds as dangerous drugs in this jurisdiction [8].
It is vital that a forensic laboratory be able to positively identify
these compounds for the benefit of law enforcement, the judiciary and
the community at large. The absence of reference standards and
reference library spectra means that a forensic chemist may not be able
to identify these substances through routine analytical protocols. As is
often seen with new designer drugs on the market, while reference
standards may eventually become available this usually does not meet
the time constraints prevalent in a busy forensic laboratory.
While a number of mono-substituted fluorinated cathinones
and amphetamines have already been encountered on the market,
so far there has not been the same observed number of chlorinated
compounds. One compound that is readily available and analogous
to cathinone is the anti-depressant bupropion 7 [9]. Several
different analogues of bupropion have been synthesised and
examined as indirect dopamine agonists for cocaine addiction [10].
3,5-Difluoromethcathinone and 3,5-dichloromethcathinone
have not previously been reported in the literature. Therefore
this laboratory has undertaken the syntheses of reference
materials to compare against the samples (Schemes 1 and 2).
The synthesis and characterisation of these compounds will enable
the forensic chemist to meet the analytical challenges successfully.
The analytical profiles are presented.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. GC–MS
A small quantity of each powder was extracted in methanol and 0.2 mL of each
extract was injected into the GCMS.
Scheme 1. Formation of 3,5-difluoromethcathinone hydrochloride. a. Br2, CH2Cl2, RT, 30 min, 95%; b. CH3NH2, RT, 2 h, 27%.
Scheme 2. Formation of 3,5-dichloromethcathinone hydrochloride. a. EtMgBr, THF, RT, 18 h, 64%; b. Br2, CH2Cl2, RT, 18 h, 45%; c. CH3NH2, THF, RT, 1 h, 17%.
Derivatisation was achieved by adding an excess of acetic anhydride to a methanol
solution of the sample. The liquid was then agitated for several minutes to allow the
reaction to reach completion, before being injected (0.2 mL) into the GCMS.
Electron Impact (EI) mass spectra were obtained using an Agilent 6890N gas
chromatograph fitted with a 5975 inert mass selective detector. The column was a
HP-5 capillary column (30 m  0.25 mm  0.25 mm) with helium as the carrier gas
at a constant flow of 0.9 mL min1 and a split ratio of 25:1. The injector was heated
to 280 8C and the temperature program was 100 8C for 1 min, ramped at 30 8C/min
until reaching a temperature of 280 8C at which the temperature remained for
10 min. The mass spectra were collected after a 2.5 min solvent delay using a 40–
450 m/z scan range at 3.51 scans s1.
2.2. Vapour phase infrared analysis
The samples were prepared as described in Section 2.1, with an injection volume
of 4 mL.
The vapour phase infrared spectra were collected using an Agilent 7890 gas
chromatograph equipped with an ASAP IRD II infrared detector. The carrier gas was
helium at a constant flow of 4.1 mL min1; the column was HP-5 capillary column
(30 m  0.32 mm  0.25 mm). The injector was set at a pulsed split of 24 psi for
2 min with a split ratio of 1:1 and a temperature of 280 8C. The temperature
program was 100 8C for 2 min, ramped at 20 8C/min until reaching a temperature of
280 8C at which the temperature remained for 8 min. The temperature of the light
pipe and the flow cell in the detector were both 280 8C. The spectra were obtained
from 4000 to 550 cm1.
2.3. Condensed phase infrared analysis
The Fourier Transform Infrared Analysis was collected using a Thermo Nicolet
5700 FTIR with a Smart Orbit Diamond Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR)
attachment. The infrared spectrum was obtained from 4000 to 400 cm1.
2.4. NMR analysis
Samples were run in d6-DMSO. Spectra were acquired on a Varian 400 MHz Unity
INOVA spectrometer operating at 400 MHz (1H) and 100 MHz (13C).
 S. Davis et al. / Forensic Science International 217 (2012) 139–145
2.5. Reagents
All reagents were purchased from commercial sources and were used without
further purification.
3. Synthesis
3.1. 3,5-Difluoromethcathinone hydrochloride (Scheme 1) [11]
3.1.1. 1-(3,5-Difluorophenyl)-2-bromopropanone
A solution of Br2 in CH2Cl2 (1 M, 9.59 g, 60 mmol) was added
dropwise to a stirred solution of 3,5-difluoropropiophenone in
CH2Cl2 (10 g, 59 mmol, 50 mL). Upon completion of the addition,
the solvent and excess Br2 were removed under vacuum. The
residue was diluted with CH2Cl2 and washed with sat. aq. sodium
thiosulphate solution (3) to afford 1-(3,5-difluorophenyl)-2-
bromopropanone (14 g, 95%) as a light yellow oil, which was used
in subsequent chemical steps without further purification.
3.1.2. 3,5-Difluoromethcathinone hydrochloride
A solution of CH3NH2 in THF (2 M, 0.8 mL, 1.6 mmol) was added
dropwise to a stirred solution of 1-(3,5-difluorophenyl)-2-bromo-
propanone (200 mg, 0.8 mmol) in THF (1.4 mL) and the resultant
mixture stirred at room temperature for 2 h. After removal of excess
CH3NH2 in vacuo, the remaining residue was diluted with 1 M HCl
and washed with Et2O. The aqueous layer was adjusted to pH 12
with 20% aq. NaOH, extracted (Et2O 3), dried (Na2SO4) and solvent
removed in vacuo to afford 3,5-difluoromethcathinone as a yellow
oil. The free base was diluted with Et2O and treated with anhydrous
HCl gas giving 3,5-difluoromethcathinone hydrochloride (50 mg,
27%) as a white solid, which was visually pure by GCMS.
3.2. 3,5-Dichloromethcathinone hydrochloride (Scheme 2) [12]
3.2.1. 3,5-Dichloropropiophenone
Ethyl magnesium bromide in Et2O (3 M, 4.7 mL, 1.4 mmol) was
added to a stirred solution of 3,5-dichlorobenzonitrile (1 g,
5.8 mmol, 0 8C) in anhydrous THF (21 mL) and the reaction
mixture left to stir at room temperature for 18 h. The mixture
was then cooled (0 8C) and the reaction quenched with HCl (0.1 M).
After stirring for 1 h at room temperature, the mixture was basified
with water and NH4OH. The aqueous layer was extracted (CH2Cl2
3) and the combined organic layers were dried (Na2SO4) and
Fig. 2. Electron impact mass spectrum for (a) 3,5-difluoromethcathinone (b) suspected 3,5-difluoromethcathinone (c) N-acetyl-3,5-difluoromethcathinone (d) suspected N-
acetyl-3,5-difluoromethcathinone.
141
filtered. Solvent removal in vacuo gave 3,5-dichloropropiophenone
as a crude yellow oil. The crude oil was subjected to column
chromatography (SiO2, 5% EtOAc/hexanes) to furnish 3,5-dichlor-
opropiophenone (760 mg, 64%) as a clear oil.
3.2.2. 1-(3,5-Dichlorophenyl)-2-bromopropanone
Br2 (882 mg, 5.5 mmol) was added dropwise to a solution of
3,5-dichloropropiophenone (590 mg, 2.9 mmol) in CH2Cl2 (20 mL).
Initially a small quantity of Br2 was added to initiate the reaction.
The remaining Br2 was then added slowly. After stirring at room
temperature for 18 h, the excess Br2 was removed in vacuo. The
residue was then diluted with CH2Cl2 and washed with sat. aq.
NaHCO3 and sat. aq. sodium thiosulphate (3). The organic layer
was dried (Na2SO4) and filtered. Solvent removal in vacuo gave
crude 1-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-2-bromopropanone as an orange oil.
The crude oil was subjected to column chromatography (SiO2, 16%
CH2Cl2/hexanes) to furnish 1-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-2-bromopro-
panone (370 mg, 45%) as a clear oil.
3.2.3. 3,5-Dichloromethcathinone hydrochloride
A solution of CH3NH2 in THF (2 M, 0.890 mL, 1.8 mmol) was
added dropwise to a stirred solution of 1-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-2-
bromopropanone (250 mg, 0.9 mmol) in THF (1.5 mL). The resultant
mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 h. After removal of
excess CH3NH2 in vacuo, the remaining residue was diluted with 10%
aq. HCL and washed with Et2O. The aqueous layer was adjusted to pH
12 with 20% aq. NaOH and extracted (Et2O 3), dried (Na2SO4), and
solvent removed in vacuo to provide 3,5-dichloromethcathinone
(130 mg, 62%) as a yellow oil. The free base was diluted with Et2O
and treated with anhydrous HCl gas giving 3,5-dichloromethcathi-
none hydrochloride (40 mg, 17%) as an off-white solid, which was
visually pure by GCMS.
4. Results and discussions
4.1. Mass spectrometry
4.1.1. 3,5-Difluoromethcathinone
Fig. 2 shows the comparison between the EI mass spectrum of
3,5-difluoromethcathinone synthesised ‘in-house’ and the sample
containing the suspected 3,5-difluoromethcathinone and their
corresponding N-acetyl derivatives. Both spectra (Fig. 2) contain
142 S. Davis et al. / Forensic Science International 217 (2012) 139–145
Fig. 3. Major EIMS fragmentations for 5 and 6.
the molecular ion (M+) m/z 198 in the mass spectrum with a small
intensity that is consistent with the mono-substituted fluorinated
methcathinone [11]. The base peak at m/z 58 is due to the
immonium ion formed from the amine initiated a-cleavage, which
is a characteristic ion for the class of N-methyl phenethylamines
such as methcathinone. Significant fragments are also observed at
m/z 141 and m/z 113, which correspond to the difluorobenzyloxy
cation and difluorophenyl cation, respectively [13] (Fig. 3). A minor
ion at m/z 184 is due to the loss of the a-methyl through the amine-
initiated alpha-cleavage [14].
N-acetyl-3,5-difluoromethcathinone has a monoisotopic mass
of 241 due to the addition of an acetamide moiety onto the
secondary amine. The subsequent a-cleavage of the amide gives
the acetyl imine species with an ion at m/z 100 [15]. This is
consistent with the acetyl derivatives of N-methyl phenethylamine
compounds [16]. The MacLaferty rearrangement has been
observed previously to produce a prominent cation with regioi-
somers of fluoroamphetamine [17]. As with the mono-substituted
isomers of fluoromethcathinone the presence of the a-carbonyl on
the molecule inhibited this rearrangement [11]. The mass spectra
of the synthesised 3,5-difluoromethcathinone and the correspond-
ing acetyl derivative agreed with those of the submitted sample
(Fig. 2).
It was observed that there was a prominent impurity in the GC
chromatogram of the suspected sample of 3,5-difluoromethcathio-
none. The unknown peak had a ratio of 2:1 of by-product to 3,5-
difluoromethcathionone. It was suspected that this larger peak was a
by-product that preferentially formed during the production process.
While optimising the conditions for the synthesis of 3,5-difluor-
omethcathionone, it was found that allowing the reaction to proceed
overnight at room temperature resulted in the formation of the
undesired by-product, which had a significant impact on the yield.
3-Fluoro-isomethcathinone 8 (Fig. 4) has been identified as a
by-product in the synthesis of 3-fluoromethcathinone [18]. The 3-
fluoro-isomethcathinone has a base peak of m/z 138 arising from
the monofluorophenylimmonium cation. The mass spectra of iso-
Fig. 4. 3-Fluoro-isomethcathinone 8 iso-mephedrone 9 iso-ethcathinone 10 and 3,5-difluoro-isomethcathinone 11.
mephedrone 9 and iso-ethcathinone 10 have previously been
reported in the literature as by-products in samples of mephe-
drone and ethcathinone by McDermott et al. [19]. The two
compounds both have a base peak of m/z 134, which is consistent
with the equivalent fragmentation pattern of compound 8.
McDermott et al. proposed that the formation of the isomeric
by-products 9 and 10 was most likely due to a rearrangement
through the formation of a a-hydroxyimine intermediate [19].
The undesired by-product can be seen in the mass spectra
(Fig. 5) to have a weak molecular ion (M+) of 198 and a base peak of
m/z 156, which corresponds with the expected difluoropheny-
limmonium ion. This compound is, therefore, tentatively identified
as 3,5-difluoro-isomethcathinone 11. It is likely that the submitted
sample, which also contained the characteristic by-product, was
subjected to reaction conditions similar to those used ‘in-house’. It
has been proposed that the presence of the isomeric by-products
indicated that liquid methylamine had been used to synthesise the
target compounds [19]. In contrast to the formation of compounds
9 and 10 using liquid methylamine, we found that the use of
methylamine in THF also formed the isomeric impurity 11. This
suggests that the presence of an isomeric impurity is not an
effective indication of the form of methylamine used in the
reaction. The N-acetyl derivative of compound 11 is provided in
Fig. 5, with an observed increased intensity of the m/z 198 ion,
which forms from the cleavage of the acetyl group. The presence of
11 in both the submitted and synthesised samples adds further
support to the identity of 3,5-difluoromethcathionone. Further
investigation is required to confirm the identity of compound 11.
4.1.2. 3,5-Dichloromethcathinone
Fig. 6 shows a comparison between the EI mass spectrum for
3,5-dichloromethcathinone, the unknown sample and their
corresponding N-acetyl derivatives. 3,5-Dichloromethcathinone
gives a weak molecular ion (M+) of 230 and an expected base peak
of m/z 58. The 3,5-dichloromethcathinone compound provides the
cations m/z 173 and m/z 145 (Fig. 3). Further, the m/z 145 has the
observed characteristic isotope pattern (9:6:1) consistent with
dichlorinated compounds. N-acetyl-3,5-dichloromethcathinone
has a molecular ion (M+) of 273 with the expected m/z 100
cation. The correlation between the spectra (Fig. 6) adds further
weight to the identity of the submitted sample as 3,5-dichlor-
omethcathinone.
4.2. NMR spectroscopy
O
X 2' 3
1
1' 2
3'
NH HCl
4' 6'
Me
5'
X=F
Cl
X
 S. Davis et al. / Forensic Science International 217 (2012) 139–145
Fig. 5. EIMS for (a) compound tentatively identified as 3,5-difluoro-isomethcathinone (b) sample containing compound tentatively identified as 3,5-difluoro-
isomethcathinone and the N-acetyl derivatives (c) and (d), respectively.
As 3,5-difluoromethcathinone 5 was a minor component
compared to the suspected undesired structural isomer 11 in
the sample submitted to the laboratory, the NMR was conducted
on the compound synthesised ‘in-house’. While the submitted
sample of 3,5-dichloromethcathinone 6 was sufficiently clean it
was found that both 5 and 6 were unstable in protic solvents. This
resulted in the observation of extensive degradation products in
attempts to analyse the free bases using 1H and 13C NMR
spectroscopy. The methcathinone derivatives were therefore
analysed as their respective hydrochloride salts.
4.2.1. 3,5-Difluoromethcathinone.HCl
In the observed 1H and 13C NMR spectra the chemical shifts
were closely related to those observed for the mono-fluorinated
analogue 2 [11]. The presence of fluorine in a molecule can result in
splitting of the peaks in the aromatic region due to spin–spin
coupling with both the 1H and 13C NMR. The 13C spectrum of the
compound was complicated by the second order multiplicity
observed in the 13C resonances in the aromatic region of the
spectrum, due to the magnetic inequivalence of the two chemically
equivalent 19F substituents.
Fig. 6. EIMS for (a) 3,5-dichloromethcathinone (b) suspected 3,5-dichloromethcathinone (c) N-acetyl-3,5-dichloromethcathinone and (d) suspected N-acetyl-3,5-
dichloromethcathinone.
143
1
H (400 MHz, d6-DMSO, 298 K): d 7.77 (2H, m, H20 ,60 ), 7.71 (1H,
tt, J = 8.4, 2.3 Hz, H40 ), 5.21 (1H, q, J = 7.2 Hz, H2), 2.58 (3H, s, N-
Me), 1.43 (3H, d, J = 7.2 Hz, H3).
13
C (100 MHz, d6-DMSO, 298 K): d194.5 (C1), 162.6 (d,
1
J = 247 Hz, C30 ,50 ), 136.1 (t, 3J = 8 Hz, C10 ), 112.1 (d, 2J = 17 Hz
C20 ,60 ), 110.1 (d, 2J = 15 Hz C40 ), 58.4 (C2), 30.6 (N-Me), 15.0 (C3).
4.2.2. 3,5-Dichloromethcathinone.HCl
In the observed 1H and 13C NMR spectra the chemical shifts
were consistent with those observed in other methcathinone
derivatives [11,16]. The aromatic region of the 1H NMR exhibits
two resonances, a doublet (d 8.03 ppm) and triplet (d 7.97 ppm),
with integral intensities of 2:1 respectively, sharing a mutual 4JHH
coupling of 1.9 Hz; confirming symmetrical meta-substitution in
the ring.
1
H (400 MHz, d6-DMSO, 298 K) d 8.03 (2H, d, J = 1.9 Hz, H20 ,60 ),
7.97 (1H, t, J = 1.9 Hz, H40 ), 5.26 (1H, q, J = 7.1 Hz, H2), 2.57 (3H, s,
N-Me), 1.43 (3H, d, J = 7.1 Hz, H3).
13
C (100 MHz, d6-DMSO, 298 K) d 194.6 (C1), 136.1 (C10 ), 135.1
(C30 , 50 ), 133.5 (C40 ), 127.3 (C20 , 60 ), 58.2 (C2), 30.5 (N-Me), 14.9
(C3).
144 S. Davis et al. / Forensic Science International 217 (2012) 139–145

Fig. 7. ATR-FTIR spectra for (a) 3,5-difluoromethcathinone hydrochloride (b) suspected 3,5-difluoromethcathinone hydrochloride and the compound tentatively identified as
11 (c) 3,5-dichloromethcathinone hydrochloride and (d) suspected 3,5-dichloromethcathinone hydrochloride.

4.3. Infrared spectroscopy
Infrared analysis provides a rapid identification for organic
compounds due to their unique infrared spectra [20]. Both
condensed and vapour phase infrared spectra have been shown
to distinguish between the isomers of various methcathinone
analogues and it is also known to be an alternative to derivatisation
when this technique is unsuitable [12,16,21,22].
As the submitted sample of the 3,5-difluoromethcathinone
contained an impurity suspected to be compound 11, clear
differences could be observed in the condensed phase infrared
spectra between the submitted and synthesised samples (Fig. 7).
The ability to separate the compounds via GCIRD, however,
enabled the vapour phase infrared spectra of these samples
to be compared (Fig. 8). From this it can be demonstrated
that the vapour phase infrared spectra between the two
compounds displays a high level of congruency. Both the
vapour phase (Fig. 8) and the condensed phase infrared spectra
(Fig. 7) for 3,5-dichloromethcathinone shows they are in strong
agreement.

Fig. 8. Vapour phase infrared spectra for (a) 3,5-difluoromethcathinone, (b) suspected 3,5-difluoromethcathinone, (c) 3,5-dichloromethcathinone and (d) suspected 3,5-
dichloromethcathinone.
 S. Davis et al. / Forensic Science International 217 (2012) 139–145
5. Conclusions
This study provides the synthesis and structural elucidation of
the cathinone analogues 3,5-difluoromethcathinone 5 and 3,5-
dichloromethcathinone 6, which have not previously been
reported in the literature. As the ‘Legal High’ market evolves it
is likely that we will continue to see a greater number of variations
made to existing illicit drugs. It can be determined from the data
that the submitted samples were 3,5-difluoromethcathinone and
3,5-dichloromethcathinone. We present the MS data for these
compounds and their N-acetyl derivatives. We have also provided
the 1H and 13C data, and both vapour and condensed phase IR
spectra. These analytical results will enable the rapid identification
of these compounds if encountered by other forensic laboratories
or law enforcement agencies. We have also presented the tentative
identification of an isomeric by-product, which may act as a
marker for similar halogenated cathinone analogues.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the support provided by
the Clinical and Statewide Services (CASS) research committee and
funding from the QHFSS Cabinet Research and Development Fund
for this study.
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