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- Cannabis and Its Secondary Metabolites: Their Use as Therapeutic Drugs, Toxicological Aspects, and Analytical DeterminationPublication . Gonçalves, Joana; Rosado, Tiago; Soares, Sofia; Simão, Ana; Caramelo, Débora Almeida; Luís, Ângelo; Fernández, Nicolás; Barroso, Mário; Gallardo, Eugenia; Duarte, Ana PaulaAlthough the medicinal properties of Cannabis species have been known for centuries, the interest on its main active secondary metabolites as therapeutic alternatives for several pathologies has grown in recent years. This potential use has been a revolution worldwide concerning public health, production, use and sale of cannabis, and has led inclusively to legislation changes in some countries. The scientific advances and concerns of the scientific community have allowed a better understanding of cannabis derivatives as pharmacological options in several conditions, such as appetite stimulation, pain treatment, skin pathologies, anticonvulsant therapy, neurodegenerative diseases, and infectious diseases. However, there is some controversy regarding the legal and ethical implications of their use and routes of administration, also concerning the adverse health consequences and deaths attributed to marijuana consumption, and these represent some of the complexities associated with the use of these compounds as therapeutic drugs. This review comprehends the main secondary metabolites of Cannabis, approaching their therapeutic potential and applications, as well as their potential risks, in order to differentiate the consumption as recreational drugs. There will be also a focus on the analytical methodologies for their analysis, in order to aid health professionals and toxicologists in cases where these compounds are present.
- Novel synthetic opioids - toxicological aspects and analysisPublication . Tabarra, Inês Pires; Soares, Sofia; Rosado, Tiago; Gonçalves, Joana; Luís, Ângelo; Malaca, Sara; Barroso, Mário; Keller, Thomas; Restolho, José; Gallardo, EugeniaOver the past few years, there has been an emerging number of new psychoactive drugs. These drugs are frequently mentioned as "legal highs", "herbal highs", "bath salts" and "research chemicals". They are mostly sold and advertised on online forums and on the dark web. The emerging new psychoactive substances are designed to mimic the effects of psychoactive groups, which are often abused drugs. Novel synthetic opioids are a new trend in this context and represent an alarming threat to public health. Given the wide number of fatalities related to these compounds reported within the last few years, it is an important task to accurately identify these compounds in biologic matrices in order to administer an effective treatment and reverse the respiratory depression caused by opioid related substances. Clinicians dealing with fentanyl intoxication cases should consider that it could, in fact, be a fentanyl analogue. For this reason, it is a helpful recommendation to include synthetic opioids in the routine toxicological screening procedures, including analysis in alternative matrices, if available, to investigate poly-drug use and possible tolerance to opioids. To address this public health problem, better international collaboration, effective legislation, effective investigation, control of suspicious "research chemicals" online forums and continuous community alertness are required. This article aims to review diverse reported fatalities associated with new synthetic opioids describing them in terms of pharmacology, metabolism, posology, available forms, as well as their toxic effects, highlighting the sample procedures and analytical techniques available for their detection and quantification in biological matrices.
- Synthetic cannabinoids in biological specimens: a review of current analytical methods and sample preparation techniquesPublication . Rosado, Tiago; Gonçalves, Joana; Luís, Ângelo; Malaca, Sara; Soares, Sofia; Vieira, Duarte Nuno; Barroso, Mário; Gallardo, EugeniaSynthetic cannabinoids are a new class of chemical drugs capable of modifying human behavior. These products do not contain cannabis, but produce similar effects after consumption. The fact that they are easily accessed, and are many times considered to be harmless, justifies their widespread use among young people. This fact, together with the difficulty in their detection by routine drug tests, makes it extremely important to develop new procedures able to detect and monitor their consumption. The aim of this work is to perform a critical review regarding the human biological samples that can be used for the determination of synthetic cannabinoids, paying special attention to analytical methods and sample preparation techniques. The reviewed articles deal with the determination of synthetic cannabinoids in the context of forensic and toxicological analysis.
- Application of dried blood spots for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides by GC-MS/MSPublication . Soares, Sofia Pires Seixo; Barroso, Mário Jorge Dinis; Alba, Maria Eugénia GallardoThe uncontrolled use of pesticides, for instance of organophosphorus nature, is an issue that has been affecting societies for a long time. As this is a current subject, and the access to these compounds is so facilitated, legislation has been put in place to monitor their use; furthermore, these compounds still appear in intoxication statistical data, and as such their detection and quantification in biological specimens is still requested to many laboratories, mainly in the clinical and forensic areas. The objective of this work was to develop and validate an analytical method for the detection and quantification of five organophosphorus pesticides (diazinon, chlorpyrifos, parathion-ethyl, chlorfenvinphos and quinalphos) in blood, using the dried blood spots (DBS) sampling approach for sample preparation and gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The internal standard used was ethion (ETH), and the entire extraction process was previously optimized. The developed method was fully validated according to internationally accepted guidelines for bioanalytical method validation, and the studied parameters included selectivity, linearity, limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LLOQ), precision and accuracy, stability, dilution integrity, and recovery. Linearity was obtained in the range of 0.1-25 µg/mL for all compounds, except for diazinon (0.05-25 µg/mL) and quinalphos (0.25-25 µg/mL), with determination coefficients greater than 0.99. Intra- and interday precision revealed coefficients of variation (CVs) typically lower than 14%, while accuracy was within a ±12% interval from the nominal concentrations. Short-term stability (for 24h at room temperature), stability after 3 freeze/thaw cycles and long-term stability were studied, revealing that the analytes were stable under those conditions. Despite the low recoveries obtained (between 1 and 12%), the method was sensitive enough as to present limits of detection between 0.05 and 0.1 µg/mL. This is the first technique described using this extraction approach for these compounds, and its simplicity, sensitivity and speed allow its routine use in the laboratories for the detection and quantification of these organophosphorus pesticides in biological specimens.
- Mitragyna speciosa: Clinical, Toxicological Aspects and Analysis in Biological and Non-Biological SamplesPublication . Meireles, Vânia Sofia de Oliveira; Rosado, Tiago; Barroso, Mário; Soares, Sofia; Gonçalves, Joana; Luís, Ângelo; Caramelo, Débora Almeida; Simão, Ana Y; Fernández, Nicolás; Duarte, Ana Paula; Gallardo, EugeniaThe abuse of psychotropic substances is a well-known phenomenon, and many of them are usually associated with ancestral traditions and home remedies. This is the case of Mitragyna speciosa (kratom), a tropical tree used to improve work performance and to withstand great heat. According to several published studies, the main reasons for kratom consumption involve improving sexual performance and endurance, but also social and recreational uses for the feeling of happiness and euphoria; it is also used for medical purposes as a pain reliever, and in the treatment of diarrhea, fever, diabetes, and hypertension. However, this plant has gained more popularity amongst young people over the last years. Since it is available on the internet for purchase, its use is now widely as a drug of abuse, namely as a new psychoactive substance, being a cheaper alternative to opioids that does not require medical prescription in most countries. According to internet surveys by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in 2008 and 2011, kratom was one of the most widely supplied new psychoactive substances. The composition of kratom is complex; in fact, more than 40 different alkaloids have been identified in Mitragyna speciosa so far, the major constituent being mitragynine, which is exclusive to this plant. Besides mitragynine, alkaloids such as corynantheidine and 7-hydroxamitragynine also present pharmacological effects, a feature that may be attributed to the remaining constituents as well. The main goal of this review is not only to understand the origin, chemistry, consumption, and analytical methodologies for analysis and mechanism of action, but also the use of secondary metabolites of kratom as therapeutic drugs and the assessment of potential risks associated with its consumption, in order to aid health professionals, toxicologists, and police authorities in cases where this plant is present.