Development of an enantioselective bioanalytical method of N-ethylpentedrone and its metabolites using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

The aim of this work was to develop an enantioselective bioanalytical method of N-ethylpentedrone (2-(ethylamino)-1-phenyl-1-pentanone) and its metabolites in biological samples using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The specific goals were to study the pharmacokinetic profile of N-ethylpentedrone, identify metabolites and enantioselective observation of this process. The separation of enantiomers of N-ethylpentedrone was most efficiently achieved on a Lux Cellulose-1 chiral column. Methanol and water in a volume ratio of 70:30 with the addition of 5 millimolar ammonium acetate were used as the mobile phase. In order to analyze N-ethylpentedrone and its metabolites, an experiment was conducted using saliva samples from patients. As a result of the experiment, it was found that using high-performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry, both quantitative and enantioselective analysis of N-ethylpentedrone in the biological samples is possible.