Feasibility study of ethylone determination in seized samples using boron-doped diamond electrode associated with solid phase extraction

Author(s)

Scheel, Guilherme Luiz ^[1] ; de Oliveira, Fernanda Midori ^[1] ; Goncalves de Oliveira, Leandro Luan ^[1] ; Medeiros, Roberta Antigo ^[1] ; Nascentes, Clesia Cristina ^[2] ; Teixeira Tarley, Cesar Ricardo ^{[1, 3]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Londrina, Dept Quim, Rod Celso Garcia Cid, PR 445 Km 380, Campus Univ, BR-86051990 Londrina, PR - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Minas Gerais, Dept Quim, BR-31270901 Belo Horizonte, MG - Brazil

^[3] Univ Estadual Campinas, UNICAMP, Inst Quim, Inst Nacl Ciencia & Tecnol INCT Bioanalit, Dept Qu, Cidade Univ Zeferino Vaz S-N, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL; v. 259, p. 1113-1122, APR 15 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 6

Abstract

Ethylone is a synthetic cathinone recently found in illicit drugs, due its similar central nervous system-stimulation properties with `ecstasy'. Due the necessity of a rapid and routine on-site determination of ethylone in illicit drugs, electrochemical techniques seem to be an advantageous analytical tool. In this report, a novel voltammetric method using a boron-doped diamond electrode to determinate ethylone was developed and applied in seized street drugs. Electrochemical behavior of ethylone was studied by cyclic, differential pulse (DPV) and square-wave voltammetry (SWV). Chemometric approach was applied for determining ethylone by DPV and SWV. Validation parameters, such as linear range, limit of quantification and detection, precision and accuracy, were evaluated by SWV. Adulterants typically found in seized street drugs were also evaluated as possible interfering compounds. It was observed that oxidation peaks of ethylone and caffeine overlapped, whose interference was further overcome by previous solid phase extraction with octadecyl silica (C-18) as sorbent to eliminate the interfering effect of caffeine. The developed method was applied in seized samples and the accuracy was attested by comparison with HPLC-DAD. The results found using the developed electroanalytical methodology enabled to gather some information about the content and amount of ethylone present in seized street drugs found in Brazil. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/50867-3 - INCT 2014: National Institute of Science and Technology in Bioanalysis
• Grantee: Marco Aurelio Zezzi Arruda
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants