Investigation of the origin of ephedrine and methamphetamine by stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry: a Japanese experience.

Abstract

Illicit drug abuse is a serious global problem that can only be solved through international cooperation. In Asian countries, the abuse of methamphetamine is one of the most pressing problems. To assist in the control of methamphetamine, the authors investigated in detail the character of ephedrine, which is a key precursor for the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine. Commercial ephedrine is produced by one of three methods: (a) extraction from Ephedra plants, (b) full chemical synthesis or (c) via a semi-synthetic process involving the fermentation of sugar, followed by amination. Although chemically there is no difference between ephedrine samples from different origins (natural, synthetic or semi-synthetic), scientific and analytical tools such as drug-characterization and impurity-profiling programmes may provide valuable information for law enforcement and regulatory activities as part of precursor control strategies. During the research under discussion in the present article, in addition to classical impurity profiling of manufacturing by-products, the use of stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry was investigated for determining the origin of the ephedrine that had been used as a precursor in seized methamphetamine samples. The results of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratio (delta13C and delta15N) analysis of samples of crystalline methamphetamine seized in Japan suggested that the drug had been synthesized from either natural or semi-synthetic ephedrine and not from synthetic ephedrine. Stable isotope ratio analysis is expected to be a useful tool for tracing the origins of seized methamphetamine. It has attracted much interest from precursor control authorities in Japan and the East Asian region and may prove useful in the international control of precursors.