Science & Justice
Volume 49, Issue 2 , Pages 94-101, June 2009

Comparative analysis of 1-phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), an amphetamine-type stimulant precursor, using stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry:

Presented in part as a poster at the 2nd meeting of the Joint European Stable Isotope User Meeting (JESIUM), Giens, France, September 2008

  • S. Schneiders

      Affiliations

    • Bundeskriminalamt (Federal Criminal Police Office), Forensic Science Institute, Unit Central Analytics II (KT 12), D-65173 Wiesbaden, Germany
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +49 6115517095; fax: +49 6115514348.
    • ,
  • T. Holdermann

      Affiliations

    • Bundeskriminalamt (Federal Criminal Police Office), Forensic Science Institute, Unit Central Analytics II (KT 12), D-65173 Wiesbaden, Germany
    • ,
  • R. Dahlenburg

      Affiliations

    • Unit Toxicology (KT 34), Forensic Science Institute, D-65173 Wiesbaden, Germany

Received 16 December 2008; received in revised form 4 March 2009; accepted 5 March 2009. published online 06 April 2009.

Abstract 

The isotope ratios of amphetamine type stimulants (ATS) depend as well on the precursor as the synthetic pathway. For clandestine production of amphetamine and methamphetamine, 1-phenyl-2-propanone (P2P, benzylmethylketone) is a commonly used precursor.

Our aim was to determine the variation of the isotope ratios within precursor samples of one manufacturer and to compare seized samples of unknown sources to these values. δ13CV-PDB, δ2HV-SMOW and δ18OV-SMOW isotope ratios were determined using elemental analysis (EA) and gas chromatography (GC) coupled to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS). The comparison of all seized samples to the data of the samples of one manufacturer revealed considerable differences. The results show that IRMS provides a high potential in differentiating between precursors from different manufacturers for the clandestine production of ATS and identifying corresponding sources.

Keywords: Precursor, 1-phenyl-2-propanone, Stable isotope analysis, GC–IRMS, EA–IRMS

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PII: S1355-0306(09)00054-9

doi:10.1016/j.scijus.2009.03.001

Science & Justice
Volume 49, Issue 2 , Pages 94-101, June 2009

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