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Metabolism of JWH-015, JWH-098, JWH-251, and JWH-307 in silico and in vitro: a pilot study for the detection of unknown synthetic cannabinoids metabolites

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Abstract

This pilot study was performed to study the main metabolic reactions of four synthetic cannabinoids: JWH-015, JWH-098, JWH-251, and JWH-307 in order to setup a screening method for the detection of main metabolites in biological fluids. In silico prediction of main metabolic reactions was performed using MetaSite™ software. To evaluate the agreement between software prediction and experimental reactions, we performed in vitro experiments on the same JWHs using rat liver slices. The obtained samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight and the identification of metabolites was executed using Mass-MetaSite™ software that automatically assigned the metabolite structures to the peaks detected based on their accurate masses and fragmentation. A comparison between the experimental findings and the in silico metabolism prediction using MetaSite™ software showed a good accordance between experimental and in silico data. Thus, the use of in silico metabolism prediction might represent a useful tool for the forensic and clinical toxicologist to identify possible main biomarkers for synthetic cannabinoids in biological fluids, especially urine, following their administration.

JWH-098: Most probable predicted sites of metabolism and main metabolites formed in vitro

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Public Health, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, 00198, Rome, Italy

    Sabina Strano-Rossi, Luca Anzillotti & Vincenzo Lorenzo Pascali

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Perugia, 06123, Perugia, Italy

    Stefania Dragoni, Roberto Maria Pellegrino, Laura Goracci & Gabriele Cruciani

Authors
  1. Sabina Strano-Rossi
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  2. Luca Anzillotti
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  3. Stefania Dragoni
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  4. Roberto Maria Pellegrino
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  5. Laura Goracci
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  6. Vincenzo Lorenzo Pascali
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  7. Gabriele Cruciani
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Correspondence to Sabina Strano-Rossi.

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Published in the topical collection Forensic Toxicology with guest editor Helena Teixeira.

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Strano-Rossi, S., Anzillotti, L., Dragoni, S. et al. Metabolism of JWH-015, JWH-098, JWH-251, and JWH-307 in silico and in vitro: a pilot study for the detection of unknown synthetic cannabinoids metabolites. Anal Bioanal Chem 406, 3621–3636 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-014-7793-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-014-7793-9

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