- Visibility 238 Views
- Downloads 250 Downloads
- Permissions
- DOI 10.18231/j.ijfcm.v.12.i.3.3
-
CrossMark
- Citation
A review of emerging substance use and their analytical detection techniques
Around the globe, the abuse of emerging drugs under various substance classes has emerged as a serious health challenge. These include novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and designer drugs that comprise constantly advancing chemical structures, and because of that, it is even more difficult to identify and detect them. Thus, they usually easily escape from legal consequences. Public health is at stake because of the inconsistency in the timely and precise identification of these substances. This review aims to assess the emerging substances of abuse according to their substance classes, particularly emphasizing their pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and chemical properties. The article reviews synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinone, NPS, designer drugs, and anabolic steroids, as well as the principle and working mechanism of the advanced analytical tool for detecting them. Google Scholar and PubMed were utilized to perform a broad, extensive literature review, considering studies published from 2000 to 2024. Synthetic cannabinoids mainly target cannabinoid receptors of the endocannabinoid system. Synthetic cathinones inhibit neurotransmitter reuptake. NPS hinders the monoamine transporters' reuptake, designer drugs antagonize N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, and anabolic steroids bind to androgen receptors in cells. Even low concentrations of drugs in the sample can be detected by GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, LC-QTOF MS, and SERS. At the same time, nanoparticle-based NMR chemo sensing, IR, IRMS, and DART-MS carry out structural analysis, molecular fingerprinting, and rapid field identification. Advancements in analytical detection techniques, along with public education and holistic rehabilitation efforts, are necessary to fight and overcome the grave challenge posed by emerging substance abuse.
References
- Zou Z, Wang H, d'Oleire Uquillas F, Wang X, Ding J, Chen H. Definition of substance and non-substance addiction. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017;1010:21–41.
- Nawi AM, Ismail R, Ibrahim F, Hassan MR, Manaf MR, Amit N, et al. Risk and protective factors of drug abuse among adolescents: a systematic review. BMC Public Health. 2021;21(1):2088.
- Pal H, Srivastava A, Dwivedi SN, Pandey A, Nathe J. Prevalence of drug abuse in India through a National Household Survey. Int J Curr Sci. 2015;5(1):103-13.
- Degenhardt L, Hall W. Extent of illicit drug use and dependence, and their contribution to the global burden of disease. Lancet. 2012;379(9810):55–70.
- Peacock A, Leung J, Larney S, Colledge S, Hickman M, Rehm J, et al. Global statistics on alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use: 2017 status report. Addiction. 2018;113(10):1905–26.
- Brown SD, Goske MJ, Johnson CM. Beyond substance abuse: stress, burnout, and depression as causes of physician impairment and disruptive behavior. J Am Coll Radiol. 2009;6(7):479–85.
- Alsuhaibani R, Smith DC, Lowrie R, Aljhani S, Paudyal V. Scope, quality and inclusivity of international clinical guidelines on mental health and substance abuse in relation to dual diagnosis, social and community outcomes: a systematic review. BMC Psychiatry. 2021;21(1):209–32.
- Patel V, Chisholm D, Parikh R, Charlson FJ, Degenhardt L, Dua T, et al. Addressing the burden of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders: key messages from Disease Control Priorities. Lancet. 2016;387(10028):1672–85.
- Yadav A, Asha. Rights to health and access to treatment of drug addicted patients in India. J Drug Alcohol Res. 2024;13(1):1–16.
- Brown JD, Rivera Rivera KJ, Crespo Hernandez LY, Doenges MR, Auchey I, Pham T, et al. Natural and synthetic cannabinoids: pharmacology, uses, adverse drug events, and drug interactions. J Clin Pharmacol. 2021;61 Suppl 2:S37–S52.
- Kuropka P, Zawadzki M, Szpot P. A review of synthetic cathinones emerging in recent years (2019–2022). Forensic Toxicol. 2023;41(1):25–46.
- Mohr AL, Logan BK, Fogarty MF, Krotulski AJ, Papsun DM, Kacinko SL, et al. Reports of adverse events associated with use of novel psychoactive substances, 2017–2020: a review. J Anal Toxicol. 2022;46(6):e116–85.
- Bond P, Smit DL, de Ronde W. Anabolic–androgenic steroids: How do they work and what are the risks?. Front Endocrinol. 2022;13:1059473.
- Green TC, Park JN, Gilbert M, McKenzie M, Struth E, Lucas R, et al. An assessment of the limits of detection, sensitivity and specificity of three devices for public health-based drug checking of fentanyl in street-acquired samples. Int J Drug Policy. 2020;77:102661.
- Roque-Bravo R, Silva RS, Malheiro RF, Carmo H, Carvalho F, Dias da Silva D, et al. Synthetic cannabinoids: a pharmacological and toxicological overview. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol. 2023;63:187–209.
- Grotenhermen F. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of cannabinoids. Clin Pharmacokinet. 2003;42(4):327–60.
- Lupu M, Miulescu MA, Sandu MN, Filip I, Rebegea L, Ciobotaru O, et al. Cannabinoids: Chemical structure, mechanisms of action, toxicity and implications in everyday life. Rev Chim. 2019;70(2):627–9.
- Diao X, Huestis MA. New synthetic cannabinoids metabolism and strategies to best identify optimal marker metabolites. Front Chem. 2019;7:109.
- Debruyne D, Le Boisselier R. Emerging drugs of abuse: current perspectives on synthetic cannabinoids. Subst Abuse Rehabil. 2015;6:113–29.
- Valente MJ, Guedes de Pinho P, de Lourdes Bastos M, Carvalho F, Carvalho M. Khat and synthetic cathinones: a review. Arch Toxicol. 2014;88(1):15–45.
- Kelly JP. Cathinone derivatives: a review of their chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology. Drug Test Anal. 2011;3(7‐8):439–
- Soares J, Costa VM, Bastos MD, Carvalho F, Capela JP. An updated review on synthetic cathinones. Arch Toxicol. 2021;95(9):2895–
- Karila L, Megarbane B, Cottencin O, Lejoyeux M. Synthetic cathinones: a new public health problem. Curr Neuropharmacol. 2015;13(1):12–20.
- Contrucci RR, Brunt TM, Inan F, Franssen EJ, Hondebrink L. Synthetic cathinones and their potential interactions with prescription drugs. Ther Drug Monit. 2020;42(1):75–82.
- Paillet-Loilier M, Cesbron A, Le Boisselier R, Bourgine J, Debruyne D. Emerging drugs of abuse: current perspectives on substituted cathinones. Subst Abuse Rehabil. 2014;5:37–52.
- Tracy DK, Wood DM, Baumeister D. Novel psychoactive substances: types, mechanisms of action, and effects. BMJ. 2017;356:i6848.
- Iversen L, Gibbons S, Treble R, Setola V, Huang XP, Roth BL. Neurochemical profiles of some novel psychoactive substances. Eur J Pharmacol. 2013;700(1-3):147–51.
- Hassan Z, Bosch OG, Singh D, Narayanan S, Kasinather BV, Seifritz E, et al. Novel psychoactive substances—recent progress on neuropharmacological mechanisms of action for selected drugs. Front Psychiatry. 2017;8:152.
- Welter-Luedeke J, Maurer HH. New psychoactive substances: chemistry, pharmacology, metabolism, and detectability of amphetamine derivatives with modified ring systems. Ther Drug Monit. 2016;38(1):4–11.
- Schifano F, Chiappini S, Corkery JM, Guirguis A. Abuse of prescription drugs in the context of novel psychoactive substances (NPS): a systematic review. Brain Sci. 2018;8(4):73.
- Carroll FI, Lewin AH, Mascarella SW, Seltzman HH, Reddy PA. Designer drugs: a medicinal chemistry perspective. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2012;1248(1):18–38.
- Staack RF, Maurer HH. Metabolism of designer drugs of abuse. Curr Drug Metab. 2005;6(3):259–74.
- Luethi D, Liechti ME. Designer drugs: mechanism of action and adverse effects. Arch Toxicol. 2020;94(4):1085–133.
- Pourmand A, Armstrong P, Mazer-Amirshahi M, Shokoohi H. The evolving high: new designer drugs of abuse. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2014;33(10):993–9.
- Mazzeo F. Anabolic steroid use in sports and in physical activity: overview and analysis. Sport Mont. 2018;16(3):113–8.
- Mottram DR, George AJ. Anabolic steroids. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2000;14(1):55–69.
- Kicman AT. Pharmacology of anabolic steroids. Br J Pharmacol. 2008;154(3):502–21.
- Schänzer W. Metabolism of anabolic androgenic steroids. Clin Chem. 1996;42(7):1001–20
- Graham MR, Davies B, Grace FM, Kicman A, Baker JS. Anabolic steroid use: patterns of use and detection of doping. Sports Med. 2008;38(6):505–25. Aradhna and Pan / Indian Journal of Forensic and Community Medicine 2025;12(3):145–156 155
- Hubschmann HJ. Fundamentals. In: Handbook of GC-MS: fundamentals and applications. 4th ed. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley- VCH; 2015. p. 9–396.
- Stan HJ. GC-MS. I: basic principles and technical aspects of GC- MS for pesticide residue analysis. In: Comprehensive Analytical Chemistry. Vol. 43. Elsevier; 2005. p. 269–337.
- Chauhan A, Goyal MK, Chauhan P. GC-MS technique and its analytical applications in science and technology. J Anal Bioanal Tech. 2014;5(6):222.
- Zhang Y, He G, Sheng L, Zhao X, Zhang Y, Zhang Y, et al. Gas chromatography properties and mass spectrometry fragmentation of anabolic androgenic steroids in doping control. Bioanalysis. 2023;15(12):661–71.
- Adaway JE, Keevil BG. Therapeutic drug monitoring and LC– MS/MS. J Chromatogr B. 2012;883:33–49.
- Thomas SN, French D, Jannetto PJ, Rappold BA, Clarke WA. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for clinical diagnostics. Nat Rev Methods Primers. 2022;2(1):96.
- van den Ouweland JM, Kema IP. The role of liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in the clinical laboratory. J Chromatogr B. 2012;883:18–32.
- Rodrigues WC, Catbagan P, Rana S, Wang G, Moore C. Detection of synthetic cannabinoids in oral fluid using ELISA and LC–MS- MS. J Anal Toxicol. 2013;37(8):526–33.
- Fan SY, Zang CZ, Shih PH, Ko YC, Hsu YH, Lin MC, et al. A LC- MS/MS method for determination of 73 synthetic cathinones and related metabolites in urine. Forensic Sci Int. 2020;315:110429.
- Sempio C, Morini L, Vignali C, Groppi A. Simple and sensitive screening and quantitative determination of 88 psychoactive drugs and their metabolites in blood through LC-MS/MS: application on postmortem samples. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2014;970:1–7.
- Deshmukh N, Hussain I, Barker J, Petroczi A, Naughton DP. Analysis of anabolic steroids in human hair using LC–MS/MS. Steroids. 2010;75(10):710-4.
- Broecker S, Herre S, Wüst B, Zweigenbaum J, Pragst F. Development and practical application of a library of CID accurate mass spectra of more than 2,500 toxic compounds for systematic toxicological analysis by LC–QTOF-MS with data-dependent acquisition. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2011;400:101–17.
- Ciborowski M, Kisluk J, Pietrowska K, Samczuk P, Parfieniuk E, Kowalczyk T, et al. Development of LC-QTOF-MS method for human lung tissue fingerprinting. a preliminary application to nonsmall cell lung cancer. Electrophoresis. 2017;38(18):2304–12.
- Gu D, Yang Y, Bakri M, Chen Q, Xin X, Aisa HA. A LC/QTOF– MS/MS application to investigate chemical compositions in a fraction with protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B inhibitory activity from Rosa rugosa flowers. Phytochem Anal. 2013;24(6):661–70.
- Kronstrand R, Brinkhagen L, Birath-Karlsson C, Roman M, Josefsson M. LC-QTOF-MS as a superior strategy to immunoassay for the comprehensive analysis of synthetic cannabinoids in urine. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2014;406:3599–609.
- Balcke GU, Handrick V, Bergau N, Fichtner M, Henning A, Stellmach H, et al. An UPLC-MS/MS method for highly sensitive high-throughput analysis of phytohormones in plant tissues. Plant Methods. 2012;8(1):47.
- Birkler RID, Støttrup NB, Hermannson S, Nielsen TT, Gregersen N, Bøtker HE, et al. A UPLC-MS/MS application for profiling of intermediary energy metabolites in microdialysis samples--a method for high-throughput. J Pharm Biomed Anal . 2010;53(4):983–90.
- Ferrando-Climent L, Rodriguez-Mozaz S, Barceló D. Development of a UPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of ten anticancer drugs in hospital and urban wastewaters, and its application for the screening of human metabolites assisted by information-dependent acquisition tool (IDA) in sewage samples. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2013;405(18):5937–52.
- Wang S, Wu H, Huang X, Geng P, Wen C, Ma J, et al. Determination of N-methylcytisine in rat plasma by UPLC-MS/MS and its application to pharmacokinetic study. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2015;990:118–24.
- Rocchi R, Simeoni MC, Montesano C, Vannutelli G, Curini R, Sergi M, et al. Analysis of new psychoactive substances in oral fluids by means of microextraction by packed sorbent followed by ultra-high- performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Drug Test Anal. 2018;10(5):865–73.
- Stiles PL, Dieringer JA, Shah NC, Van Duyne RP. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Annu Rev Anal Chem. 2008;1:601–26.
- Sharma B, Frontiera RR, Henry AI, Ringe E, Van Duyne RP. SERS: materials, applications, and the future. Mater Today. 2012;15(1- 2):16–25.
- Lanzarotta A, Thatcher MD, Lorenz LM, Batson JS. Detection of mitragynine in Mitragyna speciosa (Kratom) using surface‐ enhanced Raman spectroscopy with handheld devices. J Forensic Sci. 2020;65(5):1443–9.
- Cai-Yun W, Jing-Guang L, Da-Xin C, Jing-Rong W, Kai-Si C, Ming Z. Comprehensive chemical study on different organs of cultivated and wild Sarcandra glabra using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-TOF- MS). Chin J Nat Med. 2021;19(5):391–400.
- Rodriguez-Aller M, Gurny R, Veuthey JL, Guillarme D. Coupling ultra high-pressure liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry: constraints and possible applications. J Chromatogr A. 2013;1292:2–18.
- Sundström M, Pelander A, Angerer V, Hutter M, Kneisel S, Ojanperä I. A high-sensitivity ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HR-TOFMS) method for screening synthetic cannabinoids and other drugs of abuse in urine. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2013;405(26):8463–74.
- Gross JH. Direct analysis in real time - critical review on DART- MS. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2014;406(1):63–80.
- Hajslova J, Cajka T, Vaclavik L. Challenging applications offered by direct analysis in real time (DART) in food-quality and safety analysis. TrAC Trends Anal Chem. 2011;30(2):204–18.
- Pavlovich MJ, Musselman B, Hall AB. Direct analysis in real time—mass spectrometry (DART‐MS) in forensic and security applications. Mass Spectrom Rev. 2018;37(2):171–87.
- Ji J, Zhang Y, Wang J. Rapid detection of nine synthetic cathinones in blood and urine by direct analysis in real‐time‐tandem mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2021;35(15):e9136.
- Dawson TE, Brooks PD. Fundamentals of stable isotope chemistry and measurement. In: Unkovich M, Pate J, McNeill A, Gibbs DJ, editors. Stable isotope techniques in the study of biological processes and functioning of ecosystems. 1st ed. Dordrecht: Springer; 2001. p. 1–8.
- Godin JP, McCullagh JS. Current applications and challenges for liquid chromatography coupled to isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LC/IRMS). Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2011;25(20):3019–28.
- Piper T, Thevis M. Applications of isotope ratio mass spectrometry in sports drug testing accounting for isotope fractionation in analysis of biological samples. Methods Enzymol. 2017;596:403–32.
- Ng LM, Simmons R. Infrared spectroscopy. Anal Chem. 1999;71(12):343–50.
- Goncalves R, Titier K, Latour V, et al. Suitability of infrared spectroscopy for drug checking in harm reduction centres. Int J Drug Policy. 2021;88:103037.
- Keeler J. Setting the scene. In: Understanding NMR spectroscopy. 2nd ed. West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons Ltd;
- p. 5–22.
- Gabrielli L, Rosa-Gastaldo D, Salvia MV, Springhetti S, Rastrelli F, Mancin F. Detection and identification of designer drugs by nanoparticle-based NMR chemosensing. Chem Sci. 2018;9(21):4777–84.
- De Biasi F, Mancin F, Rastrelli F. Nanoparticle-assisted NMR spectroscopy: a chemosensing perspective. Prog Nucl Magn Reson Spectrosc. 2020;117:70–88.
- Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh. CFSL Chandigarh booklet [Internet]. Chandigarh: Directorate of Forensic 156 Aradhna and Pan / Indian Journal of Forensic and Community Medicine 2025;12(3):145–156 Science Services; 2019 [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://www.cfslchandigarh.gov.in/Uploads/Media/Original/20191 220154532_CFSl%20Booklet%20Final.pdf
- Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Bhopal. Director’s desk [Internet]. Bhopal: Directorate of Forensic Science Services [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://www.cfslbpl.gov.in/directors- desk.
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Proteomics Facility [Internet]. New Delhi: AIIMS [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://www.aiims.edu/index.php/en/2024-07-30-04-57- 11/proteomics.
- National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences. Department of Neurochemistry [Internet]. Bengaluru: NIMHANS [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://www.nimhans.ac.in/departments/ neurochemistry.
- Indian Institute of Science. LCMS Facility of Biological Sciences Division [Internet]. Bengaluru: IISc [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://iisc.ac.in/research/central-research-facilities-in- iisc/lcms-facility-of-biological-sciences-division/.
- Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani – Hyderabad Campus. Central Analytical Laboratory [Internet]. Hyderabad: BITS Pilani [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://www.bits- pilani.ac.in/hyderabad/central-analytical-laboratory/.
- Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. IIT Guwahati advances cholesterol and triglyceride detection with advanced nanotechnology [Internet]. Guwahati: IIT Guwahati; 2024 [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://iitg.ac.in/iitg_press_details? p=159/iit-guwahati-advances-cholesterol-and-triglyceride- detection-with-advanced-nanotechnology.
- Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur. Experimental optimization during SERS application [Internet]. Jodhpur: IIT Jodhpur [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://research.iitj.ac.in/publication/ experimental-optimization-during-sers-application.
- Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) based sensor for effective in-field detection [Internet]. Mumbai: IIT Bombay [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://rnd.iitb.ac.in/node/1245.
- National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research. Central instrumentation laboratories [Internet]. Mohali: NIPER [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://niper.gov.in/central- instrumentation-laboratories.
- Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. Stable Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (IRMS) facility [Internet]. Kanpur: IIT Kanpur; [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://www.iitk.ac.in/acms/xrflab.html
- Forensic Science Laboratory, Delhi. Chemical Sciences Division [Internet]. Delhi: Govt. of NCT of Delhi; [cited 2025 Jun 4]. Available from: https://fsl.delhi.gov.in/fsl/chemical-sciences
- Kathane P, Singh A, Gaur JR, Krishan K. The development, status and future of forensics in India. Forensic Sci Int Rep. 2021;3:100215.
How to Cite This Article
Vancouver
. A, Pan AK. A review of emerging substance use and their analytical detection techniques [Internet]. Indian J Forensic Community Med. 2025 [cited 2025 Oct 04];12(3):145-156. Available from: https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijfcm.v.12.i.3.3
APA
., A., Pan, A. K. (2025). A review of emerging substance use and their analytical detection techniques. Indian J Forensic Community Med, 12(3), 145-156. https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijfcm.v.12.i.3.3
MLA
., Aradhna, Pan, Arpan Kumar. "A review of emerging substance use and their analytical detection techniques." Indian J Forensic Community Med, vol. 12, no. 3, 2025, pp. 145-156. https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijfcm.v.12.i.3.3
Chicago
., A., Pan, A. K.. "A review of emerging substance use and their analytical detection techniques." Indian J Forensic Community Med 12, no. 3 (2025): 145-156. https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijfcm.v.12.i.3.3