Citation

Romańczuk A, Rojek S, Kula K, Maciów-Głąb M, Synowiec K, Moskała A, Rzepecka-Woźniak E, Kłys M. Leg. Med. (Elsevier) 2022; 56: e102053.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Japanese Society of Legal Medicine, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.legalmed.2022.102053

PMID

35279624

Abstract

The objective of the present study was the development and validation of the method for determining AMB-FUBINACA and its metabolite - AMB-FUBINACA O-desmethyl acid - in blood samples, followed by verification of the method in toxicological judicial and forensic medicine practice employing the example of post-aggression suicide. Most likely in consequence of development of adverse effects resulting in psychotic symptoms, a male being under the influence of the synthetic cannabinoid AMB-FUBINACA and the new synthetic opioid U-47700, mortally wounded his female partner and subsequently committed suicide. Identification and determination of the afore-mentioned xenobiotics in blood samples collected from the male and female victims were performed employing high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). The analytes were isolated from blood samples using the solid phase extraction (SPE) method. The blood samples collected from the male and female demonstrated respectively 110 and 196 ng/mL of AMB-FUBINACA O-desmethyl acid metabolite, 1935 and 357 ng/mL of U-47700, 250 and 200 ng/mL of N-desmethyl-U-47700, as well as 410 and 200 ng/mL of N,N-didesmethyl-U-47700. The concentration values of new psychoactive substances (NPS's) in blood samples originating from the male and female were within the ranges encountered in cases of poisoning, including these resulting in death. Nevertheless, the evident signs of exsanguination proof that the woman was alive when she sustained lethal injuries. The presented cases illustrate the difficult to be anticipated effect exerted on the users by NPS's.

Language: en

Keywords

LC-MS; Medico-legal opinion; Metabolites; New psychoactive substances (NPS’s); Post-aggresion suicide