Drug-Checking and Monitoring New Psychoactive Substances: Identification of the U-48800 Synthetic Opioid Using Mass Spectrometry, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, and Bioinformatic Tools

The misuse of opioids and opiates has remained a persistent issue since the 19th century. The recent resurgence of non-fentanyl synthetic opioids, such as U-type opioids and nitazenes, has further exacerbated the ongoing crisis. Identifying these synthetic opioids presents many challenges, including the emergence of new substances, the lack of standards, and the presence of structural isomers. This highlights the need for a robust structural characterisation strategy in forensic laboratories. To address these challenges, we developed a methodology to identify a U-type opioid sample received by Kosmicare from the European Union-funded SCANNER project, which was suspected to be either U-48800 or U-51754. Our innovative approach combined gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), and molecular dynamics to characterise the questioned sample unequivocally. While the GC-MS analysis suggested a potential match with the mass spectrum of U-51754 and its structural isomer U-48800, NMR analysis confirmed the presence of U-48800 in the sample, which was further validated through molecular dynamics experiments. These experiments provided additional insights, confirming the structural features underlying the obtained NMR profile. The presented methodology offers a valuable solution for cases involving the identification of isomers, which are currently one of the most significant challenges in identifying new psychoactive substances.