ABSTRACT
Liquid chromatography nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy can be used as a complementary technique for the characterization of the metabolites. High-resolution mass spectrometry methods have started to be used more often in the determination of new psychoactive substances (NPSs), but they also have limitations, such as the inability to distinguish position-isomers or to clarify the structures of new, unknown compounds. Capillary electrophoresis combined with mass spectrometry can also be successfully applied to the analysis of some new designer drugs. In the liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technique, the molecules that are separated according to their physicochemical properties in the high-performance liquid chromatography module are passed to a tandem mass detector and analyzed in the module. Immunoassays are the classical screening techniques for traditional designer drugs, where positive results are confirmed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) or LC-MS/MS. In addition to immunoassays and colorimetric tests, GC/MS or LC-MS/MS can be used for screening and identification of NPSs and their metabolites.
