The headspace profiles of eleven
methamphetamine (MA) samples have been analyzed using solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (
SPME/GC-MS). Nine of the eleven are illicit MA
seizures from the Southwest U.S. border. One sample is
methamphetamine base synthesized in the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Southwest Laboratory, and the remaining sample is
pharmaceutical-grade
methamphetamine hydrochloride that is used to make training
aids for
drug detecting canines. In addition. volatiles associated with
1-phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), a
methamphetamine precursor, have been identified for comparison with those found in
methamphetamine seizure and the two reference samples. Eighty-seven different compounds were identified from all the samples, not including simple
hydrocarbons and
aldehydes. Only seven occur consistently in all seizure samples, and these are:
acetic acid,
benzaldehyde,
acetophenone, P2P,
1-phenyl-1,2-propanedione (P12P), 3-phenyl-3-buten-2-one, 1-chloro-1-phenyl-2-propanone.
Dimethyl sulfone, a common cutting agent in
methamphetamine. was found in six of the nine seizure materials. When the reference
methamphetamine and P2P samples are included, only two compounds are common to all twelve samples, and these are
benzaldehyde and P2P. As such, these two compounds are likely candidates for use in a pseudomethamphetamine (PM) formulation, and their effectiveness in eliciting a canine response is being evaluated before actual deployment.