Development of analytical method for simultaneous detection of 1-[(2- chlorophenyl) methyllimino methyl] cyclopentanol hydroclorid (CCM) and 2- Hydroxy-2- (o-chloro phenyl) cyclohexanon (HCH), two precursors of ketamine, in wastewater by LC-MS/MS

Ketamin is a pharmaceutical compound that is abused as a narcotic drug, causing health problems for users. In controlling ketamine abuse, the detection of ketamine precursors can be a useful tool for tracing illegal ketamine production sites. In this study, an analytical method for determination of two ketamine precursors, 1-[(2-chlorophenyl) methyllimino methyl] cyclopentanol hydroclorid (CCM) and 2-Hydroxy-2- (o-chloro phenyl) cyclohexanon (HCH), in wastewater using solid phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatogrphy tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed and validated. An LC-MS/MS system employing a Zorbax C18 column (2.1 x 100 mm, 1.8 µm) and a mobile phase composing acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% (m/v) of formic acid in a gradient program at the flow rate of 0.3 mL/min and injection volume of 5 µL. The detection of analytes was done with electrospray ionization at positive mode (ESI+) employing multi reaction monitoring (MRM) at m/z of 238.5 and 225.5 for for CCM and HCH, respectively. The method was validated according to requirements of AOAC International and EC and was proved as reliable for intended use.