Forensic Identification and Structural Characterization of ZC‐B: A New Azetidine 2C‐Series Phenethylamine From Illicit Seized Capsules

ABSTRACT This publication describes the analytical characterization of ZC‐B (3‐(4‐bromo‐2,5‐dimethoxyphenyl)azetidine, also termed 2C‐B‐AZET), a novel hallucinogenic substance identified in capsules seized from drug‐related cases. The off‐white powder recovered from inside the capsules was used without further purification and systematically analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography‐quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐QTOF‐MS), Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Following GC–MS analysis, ZC‐B exhibited characteristic fragment ions involving the bromine isotopes at m/z 242/244, m/z 226/228, and m/z 148. The molecular ion could only be observed at very low intensity. Under UHPLC‐QTOF‐MS/MS conditions, the protonated molecule was detected at m/z 272.0282. The predominant product ions in auto‐MS/MS mode were m/z 228.9860 and 198.9752. A search of the mass spectrometry data against the NIST spectral library yielded no matching results. The off‐white solid recovered from inside the capsules was directly characterized by NMR spectroscopy for full structural elucidation. Comparison with recent literature unambiguously identified the substance as ZC‐B succinate. This established analytical framework was simple and well‐suited for the qualitative detection of ZC‐B in forensic drug seizures. Furthermore, it serves as a reference for the detection and identification of emerging new psychoactive substances (NPS).