LAUSR

The objective of the present study was to identify metabolites of synthetic cathinone, 3-chloromethcathinone (3-CMC), and to select a potential intake biomarker for this compound. The basis of the experiment was the analysis of blood and urine samples from a case of fatal poisoning with this substance. We also evaluated the stability of 3-CMC and the selected potential biomarker, the dihydro-3-CMC metabolite, depending on the time elapsed since the autopsy as well as the storage conditions of the biological material. Studies have shown that 3-CMC shows low stability in biological material. However, acidification of the biological material or low-temperature storage has a great impact on maintaining its stability. It is crucial to monitor the presence of the dihydro-3-CMC metabolite in the biological material during analysis, which showed high stability under all of the given storage conditions. Synthetic cathinones might not be detected in biological material and, if they are, the determined concentrations at the time of testing may not correspond to the actual concentrations at the time of the event or death. Consequently, interpretation of the results obtained for 3-CMC and dihydro-3-CMC in terms of assessing their toxicity and possible cause of death is difficult. The area of research into the search for other intake biomarkers of unstable halogen derivatives of synthetic cathinones remains open.