Abstract
This paper presents a mass spectral study of impurities in illicit heroin. Identification of these impurities is of importance because of their potential contribution to pharmacological effects. The major impurities, 6-acetyl-morphine (I-c) and 6-acetylcodeine (I-k), are predictable, owing to their origination from the naturally-occurring alkaloids-morphine (I-a) and codeine (I-j)(1) after reaction with acetic anhydride. In addition, the presence of a trace impurity (m/e 397, C22H23N06, at less than 0.4%) was observed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Fig. 2).
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© 1977 Plenum Press, New York
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Klein, M. (1977). Analysis of Impurities in Illicit Heroin by Mass Spectrometry. In: Frigerio, A., Ghisalberti, E.L. (eds) Mass Spectrometry in Drug Metabolism. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-4151-2_30
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-4151-2_30
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