Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 112661 |
| Journal | Forensic science international |
| Volume | 377 |
| Early online date | 17 Sept 2025 |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2025 |
Abstract
The illegal production of synthetic drugs in clandestine laboratories is an emerging threat within the European Union, necessitating improved methods for law enforcement agencies to locate these illegal sites. Combining gas chromatography and ion mobility spectrometry is a promising technology for reliably detecting trace amounts of substances in the gas phase. Therefore, the feasibility of detecting precursors involved in methamphetamine synthesis was investigated in this work. It is shown that relevant precursors of the three main synthesis pathways of the most prominent precursor, benzyl methyl ketone, naming the Dakin-West method, the nitrostyrene method and the Baeyer-Villinger pathway can be detected at concentrations down to single-digit ppbv levels. Reliable detection of these substances is based on retention time and reduced ion mobility, minimizing cross-sensitivities. Finally, using a real seized sample of benzyl methyl ketone, it was demonstrated that by-products from the synthesis can be detected in the headspace of such a sample, potentially allowing for drug profiling by sampling the gas phase near suspicious premises.
Keywords
- BMK, GC-IMS, IMS, Ion mobility spectrometer, P2P, Phenylacetone, Synthetic drugs
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine
- Social Sciences(all)
- Law
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In: Forensic science international, Vol. 377, 112661, 12.2025.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Revealing illicit drug laboratories by gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry
AU - Lippmann, Martin
AU - Schaefer, Christoph
AU - Schindler, Clara
AU - Beukers, Michiel
AU - Beijer, Niels
AU - Hitzemann, Moritz
AU - van de Kamp, Ben
AU - Peters, Ruud
AU - Knotter, Jaap
AU - Zimmermann, Stefan
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors
PY - 2025/12
Y1 - 2025/12
N2 - The illegal production of synthetic drugs in clandestine laboratories is an emerging threat within the European Union, necessitating improved methods for law enforcement agencies to locate these illegal sites. Combining gas chromatography and ion mobility spectrometry is a promising technology for reliably detecting trace amounts of substances in the gas phase. Therefore, the feasibility of detecting precursors involved in methamphetamine synthesis was investigated in this work. It is shown that relevant precursors of the three main synthesis pathways of the most prominent precursor, benzyl methyl ketone, naming the Dakin-West method, the nitrostyrene method and the Baeyer-Villinger pathway can be detected at concentrations down to single-digit ppbv levels. Reliable detection of these substances is based on retention time and reduced ion mobility, minimizing cross-sensitivities. Finally, using a real seized sample of benzyl methyl ketone, it was demonstrated that by-products from the synthesis can be detected in the headspace of such a sample, potentially allowing for drug profiling by sampling the gas phase near suspicious premises.
AB - The illegal production of synthetic drugs in clandestine laboratories is an emerging threat within the European Union, necessitating improved methods for law enforcement agencies to locate these illegal sites. Combining gas chromatography and ion mobility spectrometry is a promising technology for reliably detecting trace amounts of substances in the gas phase. Therefore, the feasibility of detecting precursors involved in methamphetamine synthesis was investigated in this work. It is shown that relevant precursors of the three main synthesis pathways of the most prominent precursor, benzyl methyl ketone, naming the Dakin-West method, the nitrostyrene method and the Baeyer-Villinger pathway can be detected at concentrations down to single-digit ppbv levels. Reliable detection of these substances is based on retention time and reduced ion mobility, minimizing cross-sensitivities. Finally, using a real seized sample of benzyl methyl ketone, it was demonstrated that by-products from the synthesis can be detected in the headspace of such a sample, potentially allowing for drug profiling by sampling the gas phase near suspicious premises.
KW - BMK
KW - GC-IMS
KW - IMS
KW - Ion mobility spectrometer
KW - P2P
KW - Phenylacetone
KW - Synthetic drugs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105016481334&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112661
DO - 10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112661
M3 - Article
C2 - 40974628
AN - SCOPUS:105016481334
VL - 377
JO - Forensic science international
JF - Forensic science international
SN - 0379-0738
M1 - 112661
ER -