Researchers identify new biomarkers to detect consumption of emerging
illicit drug
New discovery will boost global surveillance of synthetic cannabinoid
abuse

Date:
August 30, 2021
Source:
National University of Singapore
Summary:
A team of researchers has come up with a new solution to boost the
surveillance of designer drug abuse. The team has identified three
new urinary biomarkers that could be used to detect consumption
of ADB- BUTINACA, an emerging synthetic cannabinoid which is a
type of new psychoactive substance. The innovative approach used
to identify the biomarkers can be applied to other existing and
new synthetic cannabinoids.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has
come up with a new solution to boost the surveillance of designer drug
abuse. Led by Professor Eric Chan from the NUS Department of Pharmacy,
the team has identified three new urinary biomarkers that could be
used to detect consumption of ADB-BUTINACA, an emerging synthetic
cannabinoid which is a type of new psychoactive substance (NPS). The
innovative approach used to identify the biomarkers can be applied to
other existing and new synthetic cannabinoids.


==========================================================================
NPS are drugs designed to mimic the effects of illegal substances such
as cannabis, cocaine, heroin, 'Ice', Ecstacy and LSD. The intention of
the clandestine laboratories to introduce synthetic cannabinoids with
different chemical structures is to try to circumvent legislative bans.

Over the past two years, users of NPS made up the third largest
proportion of drug abusers in Singapore, while synthetic cannabinoids
have dominated Singapore's NPS market for the past four years. As most synthetic cannabinoids are extensively metabolised in the body after consumption, they become virtually undetectable in urine samples.

Commenting on the significance of the team's research, Prof Chan said,
"Prior to our study, the metabolism and urinary biomarkers of ADB-BUTINACA
were unclear. Our discovery and unique methodology offer assistance
to the forensic fraternity who is constantly being challenged by the
emergence of novel synthetic cannabinoids, and can also bring benefits
to the international public communities to tackle the increasing abuse
of this synthetic cannabinoid. This will bring us closer to the goal
of having a drug-free world." The study, which was carried out in collaboration with the Analytical Toxicology Laboratory of Singapore's
Health Sciences Authority, was first published in the journal Clinical Chemistry on 13 August 2021.

New biomarkers for accurate detection of synthetic drug abuse ADB-BUTINACA
is a new synthetic cannabinoid that was first identified in Europe in
2019, and it entered Singapore's drug scene last year. Although three
existing metabolites of ADB-BUTINACA are available as reference standards
for routine forensic monitoring, they have been found to be absent or
detected at lower concentrations in some urine samples of abusers. This
created an impetus to identify other potential metabolites for use as
urinary biomarkers for the cannabinoid's consumption.

Instead of using the conventional and more time-consuming method of
chemically synthesising metabolites of ADB-BUTINACA, Prof Chan and his
team introduced an innovative method to identify the cannabinoid's unique metabolites using the concepts of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics.

The team synthesised key metabolites of ADB-BUTINACA using human liver
enzymes in the laboratory for investigating their disposition and
identifying novel biomarker metabolites in urine. From their studies,
a total of 15 metabolites of ADB-BUTINACA and their respective pathways
of biotransformation in the body were identified for the first time
using this method.

Of the 15 new metabolites, the researchers proposed four as urinary
metabolite biomarkers due to their metabolic stability, including one metabolite where its reference standard is currently available. A panel comprising either one or a combination of these four newly-established
urinary biomarkers was developed for diagnosing the consumption of ADB-BUTINACA.

Moving forward, the team plans to extend their current strategy to better understand the disposition of novel metabolites of synthetic cannabinoids
by kidneys and their eventual occurrence in urine.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
National_University_of_Singapore. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Chi Hon Sia, Ziteng Wang, Evelyn Mei Ling Goh, Yen Li Tan, Ching Yee
Fong, Hooi Yan Moy, Eric Chun Yong Chan. Urinary Metabolite
Biomarkers for the Detection of Synthetic Cannabinoid ADB-BUTINACA
Abuse. Clinical Chemistry, 2021; DOI: 10.1093/clinchem/hvab134 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210830113320.htm

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