Forensic Identification and Structural Characterization of ZC-B: A New Azetidine 2C-Series Phenethylamine From Illicit Seized Capsules.

Abstract

This publication describes the analytical characterization of ZC-B (3-(4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)azetidine, also termed 2C-B-AZET), a novel hallucinogenic substance identified in capsules seized from drug-related cases. The off-white powder recovered from inside the capsules was used without further purification and systematically analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Following GC-MS analysis, ZC-B exhibited characteristic fragment ions involving the bromine isotopes at m/z 242/244, m/z 226/228, and m/z 148. The molecular ion could only be observed at very low intensity. Under UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS conditions, the protonated molecule was detected at m/z 272.0282. The predominant product ions in auto-MS/MS mode were m/z 228.9860 and 198.9752. A search of the mass spectrometry data against the NIST spectral library yielded no matching results. The off-white solid recovered from inside the capsules was directly characterized by NMR spectroscopy for full structural elucidation. Comparison with recent literature unambiguously identified the substance as ZC-B succinate. This established analytical framework was simple and well-suited for the qualitative detection of ZC-B in forensic drug seizures. Furthermore, it serves as a reference for the detection and identification of emerging new psychoactive substances (NPS).

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