Simple and selective screening method for the synthetic cathinone MDPT in forensic samples using carbon nanofiber screen-printed electrodes

Camila Diana Lima; Larissa Magalhães de Almeida Melo; Luciano Chaves Arantes; Nathália Dos Santos Conceição; Izabela de França Schaffel; Lara Lima Machado; Rafael de Queiroz Ferreira; Wallans Torres Pio Dos Santos

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2023.125375

Simple and selective screening method for the synthetic cathinone MDPT in forensic samples using carbon nanofiber screen-printed electrodes

Talanta. 2024 Mar 1:269:125375. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.125375. Epub 2023 Nov 7.

Authors

Camila Diana Lima¹, Larissa Magalhães de Almeida Melo¹, Luciano Chaves Arantes², Nathália Dos Santos Conceição³, Izabela de França Schaffel³, Lara Lima Machado⁴, Rafael de Queiroz Ferreira³, Wallans Torres Pio Dos Santos⁵

Affiliations

¹ Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Campus JK, 39100000, Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
² Laboratório de Química e Física Forense, Instituto de Criminalística, Polícia Civil do Distrito Federal, 70610-907, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
³ Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Campus Goiabeiras, 29075910, Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
⁴ Departamento de Farmácia, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Campus JK, 39100000, Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
⁵ Departamento de Farmácia, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Campus JK, 39100000, Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Electronic address: wallanst@ufvjm.edu.br.

PMID: 37977086
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.125375

Abstract

3',4'-Methylenedioxy-N-tert-butylcathinone (MDPT), also known as tBuONE or D-Tertylone, is a synthetic cathinone (SC) frequently abused for recreational purposes due to its potent stimulant effects and similarity to illegal substances like methamphetamine and ecstasy. The structural diversity and rapid introduction of new SC analogs to the market poses significant challenges for law enforcement and analytical methods for preliminary screening of illicit drugs. In this work, we present, for the first time, the electrochemical detection of MDPT using screen-printed electrodes modified with carbon nanofibers (SPE-CNF). MDPT exhibited three electrochemical processes (two oxidations and one reduction) on SPE-CNF. The proposed method for MDPT detection was optimized in 0.2 mol L^-1 Britton-Robinson buffer solution at pH 10.0 using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The SPE-CNF showed a high stability for electrochemical responses of all redox processes of MDPT using the same or different electrodes, with relative standard deviations less than 4.7% and 1.5% (N = 3) for peak currents and peak potentials, respectively. Moreover, the proposed method provided a wide linear range for MDPT determination (0.90-112 μmol L^-1) with low LOD (0.26 μmol L^-1). Interference studies for two common adulterants, caffeine and paracetamol, and ten other illicit drugs, including amphetamine-like compounds and different SCs, showed that the proposed sensor is highly selective for the preliminarily identification of MDPT in seized forensic samples. Therefore, SPE-CNF with DPV can be successfully applied as a fast and simple screening method for MDPT identification in forensic analysis, addressing the significant challenges posed by the structural diversity of SCs.

Keywords: D-Tertylone; Forensic analysis; MDPT; New psychoactive substances; Screening method; Syntethic cathinone.