NCJ Number
181247
Journal
Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal Volume: 32 Issue: 4 Dated: December 1999 Pages: 141-153
Date Published
1999
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This paper reports and discusses the synthesis and photochemical degradation of alkyl nitrates, drugs widely abused for recreational purposes, as sexual stimulants, and to improve physical performance, and proposes a fast and efficient head space/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS/GC/MS) for the identification of degradation products.
Abstract
Alkyl nitrites, especially isobutyl nitrite, are common recreational chemicals of abuse among young people. They are usually sniffed because of their presumed stimulant action and improvement in sexual activity. Acute toxicological effects of alkyl nitrite inhalation include dizziness, headaches, vertigo, syncope, hypertension, tachycardia, and vasodilation followed by constriction of cutaneous vessels. The major physiological danger of alkyl nitrites, however, is methemoglobinemia due to the oxidation of hemoglobin by the nitrite ion. HS/GC/MS techniques were employed to identify the chemical composition of alkyl nitrites. The whole group of commonly used alkyl nitrites was synthesized, and composition was checked immediately after the synthesis and after controlled degradation. Both compositions were compared to street samples. The HS/GC/MS analysis of street samples revealed the presence of alkyl nitrites and their precursor alcohols but also the presence of many other compounds. Secondary products were identified that could be explained as degradation products and were common to both experimental and street samples. The formation of degradation products was due to photolysis of alkyl nitrites in which the primary photoprocess was the dissociation of alkyl nitrites into nitrogen monoxide and alkoxyl radicals. 7 references and 18 figures