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Volume 13, Issue 1 (2024)                   J Police Med 2024, 13(1) | Back to browse issues page

‎ 10.30505/13.1.7
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Baheri T, Shokoohi Rad S, Khoshnood M, Kargar A. Determination of Medicinal Impurities of Exposed Heroin using Gas Chromatography. J Police Med 2024; 13 (1) : e7
URL: http://jpmed.ir/article-1-1249-en.html
Determination of Medicinal Impurities of Exposed Heroin using Gas Chromatography
Tahmineh Baheri1, Samad Shokoohi Rad *2, Mahdi Khoshnood3, Ali Kargar4
1- Anti-Narcotics Department, Faculty of Information and criminal investigation Sciences and Techniques, Amin Police University, Tehran, Iran.
2- Anti-Narcotics Department, Faculty of Information and criminal investigation Sciences and Techniques, Amin Police University, Tehran, Iran. , Chemo1446@gmail.com
3- Anti-Narcotics Police Laboratory, Police Headquarters of the Islamic Republic, Tehran, Iran
4- Division of Toxicology, Department of Comparative Bioscience, Faculty of Veterinary medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
English Extended Abstract:   (58 Views)
Background and Aims: Determining the chemical profile plays a fundamental role in identifying the medicinal impurities of heroin and investigating the harmful effects of its abuse. The purpose of this research was to identify the medicinal impurities of exposed heroin using the techniques of gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and to compare and investigate the changes in heroin impurities in the past few years. Method: The current research is analytical-applied. The statistical population of the research included 440 seized heroin samples nationwide, and the samples were analyzed in the reference laboratory for the analysis of narcotics and psychotropic substances by the police in 2023. To determine the profile of heroin samples, 5 mg of each heroin powder sample was dissolved in one milliliter of ethanol and chloroform (1:1) solution containing 0.3 mg of docosane external standard, with the help of an ultrasonic device, and to identify drug impurities in heroin by GC -MS and GC-FID devices were injected. Finding: The drugs acetaminophen, caffeine, dextromethorphan, diazepam, phenobarbital, lidocaine, clotrimazole, and phenolphthalein were present as impurities in the exposed heroin samples. Caffeine, acetaminophen, and dextromethorphan were added in high amounts to increase the amount, and diazepam, phenobarbital, lidocaine, and clotrimazole were added in small amounts to increase the effects of heroin. In 440 examined samples, 75% of the samples had caffeine, 41% acetaminophen, and 28% dextromethorphan, 5% of the samples had other drugs and 25% of the samples had no drug impurities. Result: The drug profile of exposed heroin shows that marketed heroin has numerous drug additives and their type and frequency are changing. Caffeine, acetaminophen, and dextromethorphan are the most important heroin additives that are added to increase the effects and quantity. The addition of these drugs to open heroin has an increasing trend. Tramadol, bipyridine, pheniramine, chloroquine, and clonazepam, which were added to heroin in 2006 and 2007, have been removed from the composition of heroin since 2013 and replaced by clotrimazole, diazepam, phenolphthalein, and lidocaine. Despite reports of the presence of xylazine, fentanyl, olanzapine, sertraline, and trimethoprim in the composition of open heroin in other countries, the desired medicinal substances were not found in open heroin in the country.
Article number: e7
Keywords: Heroin, Drug Impurity, Drug Poisoning
Full-Text [PDF 710 kb]   (30 Downloads)    
Article Type: Original Research | Subject: Police Medicine Related Technologies
Received: 2024/01/15 | Accepted: 2024/10/23 | Published: 2024/04/18
* Corresponding Author Address: Faculty of Information and criminal investigation Sciences and Techniques, Amin Police University, The Beginning of Shahid Kharazi Highway, The End of Shahid Hemet Gharb Highway, Tehran, Iran, Postal code: 1498619991
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