Investigation of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), Other Illicit Drugs, and Drug-Related Compounds in a Taiwanese Wastewater Sample Using High-Resolution Mass-Spectrometry-Based Targeted and Suspect Screening.
Yuan-Chih ChenJen-Yi HsuChih-Wei ChangPin-Yu ChenYung-Chieh LinI-Lin HsuChiau-Jun ChuYen-Ping LinPao-Chi LiaoPublished in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) (2023)
The proliferation of new psychoactive substances (NPSs) in recent years has posed a significant challenge to public health. Traditional monitoring methods have proven insufficient in tracking these constantly evolving substances, leading to the development of alternative approaches such as wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). The present study aims to utilize high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS)-based targeted and suspect screening to profile NPS, other illicit drugs, and drug-related compounds in a Taiwanese wastewater sample. For the targeted analysis, 8 out 18 standards of illicit drugs have been identified. The suspect screening approach based on approximately 3600 substances in the SWGDRUG library can further identify 92 compounds, including opiate analgesics, synthetic cathinones, phenylalkylamines derivatives, phenethylamine derivatives, tryptamine derivatives, steroids, and ephedrine-related compounds. Additionally, the presence of 5-methoxy-2-aminoindane (MEAI) in the wastewater indicates that drug dealers have recently sold this potential NPS to evade drug regulations. This study firstly reports the HRMS-based comprehensive profile of NPS, other illicit drugs, and drug-related compounds in Taiwan, which could be applied as biomarkers for estimating the consumption of drugs.
Keyphrases
- high resolution mass spectrometry
- drug induced
- liquid chromatography
- public health
- wastewater treatment
- adverse drug
- ultra high performance liquid chromatography
- drinking water
- gas chromatography
- cancer therapy
- mass spectrometry
- anaerobic digestion
- risk factors
- signaling pathway
- climate change
- structure activity relationship